JD Sports saw sales decline in its second quarter trading statement, as it unveiled a further £100m share buyback.
Group like-for-like revenues dropped 3% to £3.1m over the 13 weeks to 2 August. Sales were down 2.5% during its first half.
UK sales dropped 6.1% over the second quarter, declining 3.3% during the retailer’s first half.
The firm highlighted an improved like-for-like sales trend for its second quarter in the UK, North America and Europe, which had been affected by tough prior year comparatives due to the Euro 2024 tournament.
It also noted good performance across its apparel, with footwear softer due to the end of cycle for its key product lines.
The business said it had made strong progress against its strategic objectives across its omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint, supply chain and North America operations.
It said it expected to be in line with current market expectations for its FY26 pre-tax profit and adjusting items, but noted that it continued to assess potential impacts from the US tariffs.
The business also announced a new £100m share buyback programme, which it said reflected confidence in its medium-term industry growth, its ongoing market share gains and focused execution.
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CEO Régis Schultz said: “We are making strong progress in developing our omnichannel customer proposition, store footprint and supply chain, and we are controlling our costs and cash effectively.
“In both Europe and the UK, we were annualising tough comparators from the Euros football tournament last year, but still saw a good underlying performance in apparel and from newer footwear lines.”
He added: “Across our regions and fascias, in general we see a resilient consumer, albeit very selective on their purchases. We therefore remain cautious on the trading environment going into H2.
“For our FY26 profit before tax and adjusting items we expect to be in line with current market expectations, before any indirect impact of US tariffs which we continue to work through.”
In April, JD Sports warned that the year ahead would be challenging due to market volatility and tariff uncertainty, after meeting its full-year profit expectations.
For the 52 weeks to 1 February 2025, the business reported a 5.8% organic sales growth, with profit before tax and adjusting items falling within the range of £915m to £935m.
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