Revenue almost doubles for JD Sports despite British high-street troubles

JD Sports Fashion Plc has revealed its interim results for the 26 weeks ended August 3 2019.

The Manchester-headquartered fashion and sport brand’s revenue has increased by 47 per cent to £2,721.2m. In 2018, this figure stood at £1,846.3m. JD Sports has also seen a ‘strong’ like-for-like sales boost in global sports fashion of 12 per cent.

The company has had a substantial year so far, with one of its highlights being its acquisition of competitor Footasylum in April for £86m. Thus, JD Sports took on 69 UK stores and 30 per cent of sales from the brand’s website.

Peter Cowgill, JD Sports’ executive chairman, said: “I am very pleased to report that this has been another period of significant progress for the group…

“Against a backdrop of widely reported retail challenges in the UK, it is extremely encouraging that JD has delivered like-for-like sales growth of more than 10 per cent with an improved conversion reflecting consumers’ increasingly positive reaction to our elevated multichannel proposition.

“JD also continues to gain momentum in Europe with a further double digit increase in total like for like sales and a net increase of 23 stores in the period.

“We are pleased by the continued positive trends to date in the second half in Sports Fashion whilst recognising the tougher comparatives ahead.”

The company’s reported profit-before-tax also increased by 6.6 per cent to £129.9m - a good leap compared to 2018 with a figure of £121.9m.

Meanwhile, 23 JD stores are now open across mainland Europe, while seven JD stores have been added to the Asia Pacific region. Six new stores are now trading in the US.

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