JD Sports reports record H1 profit helped by expansion

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Sept 12 (Reuters) - Britain's JD Sports Fashion Plc (LSE: JD.L - news) reported a record half-year pretax profit on Tuesday on demand for athletic leisure clothing and the opening of 35 new stores, sending its shares sharply higher.

Strong trading in the half-year helped the seller of trainers and tracksuits predict full-year profit towards the upper end of market expectations of 268-290 million pounds. ($354-$383 million).

JD Sports, which also runs fashion and outdoor retail outlets such as Scotts and Blacks, said profit before tax for the 26 weeks to July 29 rose 33 percent to 102.7 million pounds ($135.46 million) from 77.4 million a year earlier.

Revenue from its sports fashion business, made up of brands such as JD , Size? and Sprinter, rose more than 30 percent to 1.17 billion pounds.

It opened 12 JD stores in UK and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) and 23 across mainland Europe in the first half.

JD shares jumped 10 percent to 376 pence in early trade.

JD, which sells from more than 1300 stores, has overtaken Sports Direct as the country's leading sportswear retailer by market value.

It opened 12 JD stores in UK and Ireland and 23 across mainland Europe in the first half.

($1 = 0.7581 pounds) (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)