Like-for-like (LFL) sales at JD Sports have increased by 2.4% in the second quarter, with first half sales increasing 0.7%, as its multi-brand operating model strengthened.

The Bury-headquartered sports retail firm said its sales growth was strongest in North America and Europe, increasing by 5.7% and 3% respectively, with the UK improving materially quarter-on-quarter.

Additionally, the firm’s main segments, JD, Complementary Concepts and Sports Goods and Outdoor, achieved LFL growth.

In the period, JD Sports completed the £900m acquisition of Hibbett, in a way to increase its presence in North America and strengthen its brand relationships in the sportswear market.

Chief executive officer at JD Sports, Régis Schultz, said: "I am pleased to report like-for-like sales growth of 2.4% and organic sales growth of 8.3% in the second quarter, demonstrating the strength and agility of our multi-brand model.

"In particular, we saw double-digit organic sales growth in North America and Europe, supported by the continued success of our JD store rollout programme. We completed the acquisition of Hibbett, Inc. just before the period end and we look forward to its contribution to the growth and development of our US business in the coming years."

During the first half of the year, JD Sports opened 85 new stores, which along with the Hibbett acquisition and the ongoing disposal of non-core stores, resulted in the firm boasting a portfolio of 4,506 stores by the end of the first half of the year, an increase of 1,189 from the end of 2023.

In its outlook, JD Sports said the global macroeconomic environment remains "volatile", and therefore it continues to be "cautious" in its outlook for the rest of the year.

As a result, it expects its profit before tax and adjusting items guidance range to be between £955m to £1.035bn, ahead of the pre-Hibbett acquisition.

Head of markets at interactive investor, Richard Hunter, described the period as an "unquestionably strong second quarter" for the firm, with its ability to diversify its "multi-brand offering" and its geographical business.

Hunter added: "Over the last year, a previous profit warning and a poor trading update from key supplier Nike both contributed to a dip of 15% compared with a gain of 14% for the wider FTSE 100.

"However, a gain of 14% over the last six months could yet prove to be something of an inflection point, and the initial price reaction to the update seems to strengthen that case. With the shares still looking cheap on a historical valuation basis, and with the group increasingly laying out plans to build on its growing global footprint, the market consensus of the shares as a buy reflects the growing optimism surrounding the company."

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