Impressive half-year profit growth at JD Sports Fashion (JD.) was driven by bumper trading from its retail sports division, where sales rose 11 per cent to £413m and underlying operating profit jumped 55 per cent to £29.2m - thanks largely to good performance in the UK and Ireland. Here, like-for-like sales grew 7.5 per cent, offsetting a weaker showing from France and Spain.
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Elsewhere, performance was weaker, although this was largely down to restructuring at the struggling fashion and outdoor divisions. In fashion, sales grew 9 per cent to £71.4m, but like-for-like sales fell 2.2 per cent as weak trading at Bank offset a decent showing from Scotts. Markdowns squeezed margins, too, so fashion's operating loss rose by £1.6m to £6.9m.