JD Sports Fashion has stuck by its full-year profit guidance, even as a bruising first half saw earnings fall by a fifth amid weak consumer spending and a promotional market.
The FTSE 100 sportswear retailer said it continued to expect profit before tax and adjusting items of £700 million to £800 million for the year, with free cash flow of £460 million to £520 million, both unchanged from its August trading statement.
It cautioned that many of the headwinds seen in the first half could persist, including cost-of-living pressures on its core young customers, a shift in the footwear product cycle at major brands, and heavy discounting across the market.
The guidance accompanied results for the 26 weeks to 1 August showing sales down 0.7% to £5,899 million.
Like-for-like sales fell 2.8%, offset by new store space.
Profit before tax and adjusting items dropped to £282 million, from £351 million, with the operating margin down 120 basis points to 5%.
Statutory pre-tax profit, however, jumped 75% to £241 million, flattered by a much smaller charge on options linked to its US business.
Trading was toughest in North America, its largest region, where a slower quarter for sought-after footwear compounded weaker sentiment.
Footwear sales fell about 3% across the group, while apparel and accessories grew around 4%, helped by World Cup replica kit sales.
Online sales rose to 20% of the total.
Chief executive Régis Schultz described a resilient performance against a challenging backdrop, saying the company had focused on "controlling the controllables".
He pointed to strategic progress, including new e-commerce platforms in the UK and Ireland, surpassing 10 million loyalty members, and a franchise deal with Grupo Axo to enter Mexico with more than 140 stores from 2027.
The group also completed a restructuring of its German estate and began reorganising its Eastern European operations, which are now up for sale.
JD ended the half with net cash of £168m before lease liabilities, a swing of nearly £300 million from a year earlier, after returning £260 million to shareholders over the past 12 months.
The interim dividend was raised 21% to 0.40p, and the second £100 million tranche of a £200 million share buyback began in August.
Schultz said JD remained well placed to outperform through the cycle, pointing to its global footprint, multi-brand model and cash generation.
