Sports Direct owes its investors a coherent and detailed explanation following the halving of its shares in the five months since its February flotation.

Unfortunately, such exposition was absent when the sports retailer today issued its second profits warning in a row. Its management declined to provide like-for-like sales figures or show how it arrives at its current-year forecast of £200 million of operating profits. Such evasiveness makes it difficult to trust the still chairman-less board. It also makes it hard to gauge whether Sports Direct is now in the bargain basement — something which its £182 million cash flow might seem to indicate.

Should shareholders be suspicious of executives who refuse to brief the City fully and send their shares lower? Or could Mike Ashley, the company’s idiosyncratic founder, decide to take the company private? After all, Sports Direct is now only worth £1 billion, just above the £930 million windfall Mr Ashley earned at its £2.1 billion flotation.

The shockwaves from today will take some time to work their way through the shares. Until then, they are best avoided.

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