Frasers, the UK sportswear and apparel retailer that owns the Sports Direct brand, said it was on track to meet full-year profit guidance after first-half earnings rose 12.6%, reflecting the success of a plan to take the group upmarket.
The FTSE 100-listed group, controlled by founder Mike Ashley, is pursuing a so-called "elevation strategy" with investments in flagship stores and in online operations.
It also wants to strengthen its ties with brands such as Nike, Adidas, The North Face and On Running.
Frasers' brands also include House of Fraser, Flannels, USC and Jack Wills, and it holds strategic equity stakes in a raft of other retailers including Hugo Boss, ASOS, Boohoo, Currys and AO World.
Frasers said today it was confident of achieving adjusted pre-tax profit of £500-550m in the year to April 2024, up from £478m in 2022/23.
It made £303.8m in its first half to October 29 on revenue that rose 4.4% to £2.77 billion.
"The elevation strategy continues to drive strong trading performance across the business," said chief executive Michael Murray, Ashley's son-in-law.
Industry data published today showed British retail sales growth remained sluggish in November despite Black Friday deals as the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze prompted shoppers to rein in spending on non-essential items.
However, Frasers said its strong trading momentum had continued into the early weeks of its second half, especially at Sports Direct.
Shares in Frasers, 73% of which are owned by Ashley, were up 1% in morning trading, taking 2023 gains to 29%.
Finance chief Chris Wootton said the retailer was able to defy the downturn because of the breadth of its product offer and range of price points.
"We do cater for everyone and that gives us amazing resilience in times like these," he said in an interview, also noting that sport in general was growing in popularity.
Murray said Frasers' long-term ambitions for its Premium Lifestyle business - the Flannels and House of Fraser brands - were unchanged, although he cautioned that progress was likely to remain subdued for the short to medium term in the face of a softer luxury market.
