JD Sports have released their first half results and report huge jumps in profit.
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Operating profit (before exceptional items) rose by 63% to £77,650,000 and profit before tax and exceptional items increased by 66% to £77,411,000.
“Notwithstanding the demanding comparatives going forward following the strong revenue growth in the previous three years, the positive nature of trading in the second half to date is encouraging”, Chairman Peter Cowgill said.
The company also said that it has acquired Next Athleisure in Australia, which trades as Glue, with the deal providing “the platform to open JD in Australia”.
Most of JD Sports’ 900 outlets are in the United Kingdom, although it is expanding elsewhere in Europe in countries such as Spain, France and Germany.
Its outdoor division – which includes the Blacks and Millets chains – managed to narrow losses to £2.3m from £4.5m past year.
It said any gain from fellow retailer Sports Direct, which has been hit by criticism for the way it pays and treats its employees and communicates with investors, was marginal as the two companies were targeting different consumers.
“The only disappointments are that the outdoor division is still losing money”, he added.
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Sept 13 (Reuters) – JD Sports said its profit rose by 73 percent in the first half of the year thanks to “exceptional” sales growth in its sports fashion stores, driving shares in the British retailer to a record high on Tuesday.
