JD Sports profits to 'significantly' exceed expectations

7th Jan 2010 07:53

Sportswear fashion seller JD Sports expects full-year profit before tax and exceptional items to significantly exceed current market forecasts.It cautioned though that the extent to which this occurs is still dependent on the impact of the prevailing severe weather conditions.Like for like sales for the five week Christmas trading period ended 2 January were up by 6.6% with the Sports Fascias (JD and Size) up by 5.9% and the Fashion Fascias (Bank and Scotts) up by 9.7%. The group's cumulative like for like sales for the 48 week period to 2 January are up 2.7% (Sports Fascias up 2.3% and Fashion Fascias up 4.5%), with UK retail gross profit margins having improved marginally over the full period compared to the previous year.'The Christmas trading period has again been a good one for the Group and I am particularly pleased with both the sustained progress in the Sports Fascias and the strong performance of the Bank Fashion Fascia,' said executive chairman Peter Cowgill.'This has been the result of our strong product proposition and a lot of hard work from employees throughout the business.'