Sports Direct posts profit rise but cuts bonus scheme target

LONDON, July 16 (Reuters) - Britain's biggest sporting goods retailer Sports Direct posted a 21 percent rise in profit on Thursday but said it would cut its bonus scheme earnings target for 2016 after failing to make the acquisitions necessary to boost sales.

The group, founded and majority controlled by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said underlying pretax profit for the year to April 26 was 300 million pounds ($469 million), ahead of forecasts of 293 million and up from 249 million pounds a year ago.

A 5.5 percent rise in sport retail sales helped push total revenue up 4.7 percent, with the group's gross margin up 110 basis points to 43.8 percent.

Sports Direct's permanent staff are incentivised by lucrative share bonus schemes linked to group earnings targets.

The company said on Thursday it would revise down its 2015/16 adjusted core earnings target of 480 million pounds to 420 million pounds, as it now considered it to be unreasonably challenging after failing to fuel its expansion with acquisitions over the past year.

All other targets for the further three years of the scheme to 2019 remained unchanged. ($1 = 0.6401 pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Kate Holton)