JD Sports expects profit to match last year's record on strong demand

(Reuters) -Britain's largest sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion said on Friday it expects annual profit to be in line with last year's record performance on strong demand for athleisure apparel and sportswear.

The company, which offers Nike, Adidas, Puma as well as in-house brands, said total sales for the five months of the year in its like-for-like businesses remains 5% ahead of the same period last year.

The Bury-headquartered retailer said it has started a review of its control, risk and compliance target operating model. Last month it had laid out plans to overhaul its corporate governance structure and internal controls after a review led to the ousting of long-time boss Peter Cowgill in May.

JD Sports, which will hold its annual general meeting later on Friday, said earnings in the current year would reflect a more normalised trading pattern with about 35% to 40% of the profits generated in the first half.

The company had reported a profit before tax of 654.7 million pounds ($800.2 million) for the year ended Jan 29.

JD, which appointed Andrew Higginson, former chair of supermarkets group Morrisons as its chairman earlier this month, said it was in the process to recruit a new CEO.

Rival Frasers, which owns Sports Direct, on Thursday said it expected higher profit next year, after a "record-breaking" 2022 driven by store reopenings and high demand for its sportswear.

(Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)