Bury-based JD Sportsfashion PLC says it’s on target to reach a £1.04bn profit by the end of the year.
In its interim results this morning, it admitted it was “acutely aware” of the tough trading conditions, but it still expected to meet its profit targets.
Chief Executive Officer, Régis Schultz, also revealed that the group had already started investing in its omnichannel strategy, including an “end-to-end cyber improvement programme” to strengthen its online security.
That comes following a cyber attack earlier this year, where hackers were able to access customer data relating to online orders placed between November 2018 and 2020.
The sports fashion group has also started the initial scoping process for a new global ecommerce platform.
“We have delivered a strong first half to our financial period with organic sales growth1 of 12% and profit on track for the full year,” said Schultz.
“In line with our strategic plan, growth is being driven by our premium Sports Fashion business with an impressive performance in Europe (+27%) and North America (+15%), supported by a strong performance in our more mature UK market (+8%). This performance continued in the important back to school period.
“We have made good progress delivering on our strategic pillars, focusing on expanding the JD brand and we will open more than 200 JD stores worldwide in this financial period. We are going to accelerate JD brand growth in Europe through purchasing the non-controlling interest in both ISRG and MIG, and the acquisition of GAP stores in France. This is alongside the proposed acquisition of Courir in the region, which will, when completed, enhance the Group’s existing portfolio of complementary concepts, bringing into the company its market-leading focus on the female customer. Meanwhile, we are building and investing in talent and infrastructure to support future growth.”
The group’s total revenue grew 8.3% during the period to £4.8bn.
