In the first half of the current year, ended on the 30^th of July, the group's total revenue amounted to 4.4 billion British pounds (5.0 billion US dollars), on a comparable basis to 3.8 billion British pounds (4.3 billion US dollars) in the same period of last year. However, profit before tax and exceptional items dropped to 298.3 million British pounds (336.6 million US dollars) in this period, from 364.6 million British pounds (411.3 million US dollars) in the first half of 2021.

According to the newly appointed CEO Régis Schultz, the drop in profit before tax and exceptional items was due to the "reduction in profit before tax and exceptional items of £115.1m across our combined businesses in North America, which benefited significantly in the previous year from the temporary fiscal stimulus which the federal government made available to the lower-earning demographic. This means that the rest of the group's businesses actually increased their contribution in the period as compared with last year by £59.1m, which is a reflection of the continuing positive momentum in our global markets".

The JD Sports' board proposed an interim dividend of 0.13p per ordinary share, as return to a more normalised trading justifies the return to a more normalised phasing of dividend payments

Full Year Outlook

For the full year, the group is expecting the headline profit before tax and exceptional items to remain in line with the one recorded in the prior year, which ended on the 29^th of January, while remaining cautious on account of the challenging macroeconomic environment.

“Whilst the overall performance continues to be encouraging and the result for the half year was at the upper end of the Board's expectations, it must also be recognised that the most material trading periods lie ahead. Given the widespread macroeconomic uncertainty, inflationary pressures and the potential for further disruption to the supply chain with industrial action a continuing risk in many markets, it is inevitable that we remain cautious about trading through the remainder of the second half", commented Andrew Higginson, Non-Executive Chair.