British sportswear retailer JJB Sports has said trading improved in its second half and it achieved a Christmas outcome in line with expectations that were revised down after an October profit warning.
JJB, which counts America's richest man Bill Gates among its major shareholders, said today that sales at stores open over a year increased 5% in the four weeks to December 26. That performance meant like-for-like sales for the 47 weeks to December 26 fell 13.5%.
In October the firm, which trades from nearly 200 UK stores competing with larger rival Sports Direct as well as supermarkets and online retailers, issued the latest in a long line of profit alerts, warning on the full-year outcome alongside a wider first-half loss.
At the same time JJB, which came close to collapse last year, said its net funds had fallen to £17m sterling even though it had raised £97m over the past year to fund a turnaround plan.
"Looking ahead, the ongoing credit squeeze on consumers and weaker UK employment numbers creates a tough environment. We continue to implement our turnaround aware of the importance of the periods of the January sales, European football championships and London Olympics," said chief executive Keith Jones.
