JD Sports’ skyrocketing sales in its annual financial report has prompted it to brush aside Brexit woes in “period of significant progress”.

In the 12 months to January 28, the sportswear retailer’s pre-tax profits shot up 81 per cent to £238 million, while profit before tax came in at £244.8 million, seeing a rise of nearly 200 per cent in the last three years.

The group‘s revenues grew a further 31 per cent, topping £2.37 billion for the year.

This was driven by double digit growth in both its sports apparel division and a boost of 10.4 per cent in online sales compared to the year prior.

Online sales now accounted for 13.2 per cent of the retailers‘ sales as it lays out plans to invest heavily in multichannel.

The effect of the strong euro against the weakened pound was responsible for a small growth in margins, as the company‘s European business relies on UK-sourced and distributed items.

Meanwhile, the group‘s outdoor arm which includes Go Outdoors, Blacks and Millets posted a profit for the first time, seeing a £1.2 million profit compared to 2016‘s £4 million loss.

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Last year‘s acquisition of the outdoor apparel giant Go Outdoors is said to have not had an impact on its results, but JD Sports was “confident” it would enhance its outdoor offering in the long term.

“This has been another period of very significant progress for the group,” executive chairman Peter Cowgill said.

“The foundation of this success remains our core sports fashion fasciae where JD‘s continued strength in its core markets is increasingly being complemented by momentum in our international development.

“Whilst we must recognise that there are external influences which may impact the latter part of the year, notably inflationary pressures arising from Brexit, the board remains confident in the robustness of the JD proposition and believes that the group is well positioned for further profitable growth.”

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