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Shoe and sports apparel retailer JD Sports Fashion posted a large rise in first-half profit after sales bounced back as lockdowns eased.
The company, however, decided not to pay an interim dividend.
Its pre-tax profit for the six months through July jumped to £364.6 million, up from £41.5 million year-on-year, as revenue rose 53% to £3.89 billion.
JD Sports said it may pay a larger full-year dividend subject to its performance over the remainder of the year and 'taking into account the consequences of any potential further restrictions on trading'.
Pre-tax profit before exceptional items leapt to £439.5 million, up from £61.9 million year-on-year, and included a £245.0 million profit at the company's US business.
For the full year, the company forecast an 'outturn headline' pre-tax profit of at least £750 million.
JD Sports showed 'outstanding resilience' in the face of the continued prevalence of Covid-19, supply-chain challenges, materially lower footfall and Brexit, executive chairman Peter Cowgill said.
'At this time, we are generally encouraged by our performance in the first few weeks of the second half although retail footfall remains comparatively weak in many countries,' he added.