JJB Sports reports £42.9m loss

JJB Sports has reported a £42.9 million loss before tax for the six months to July.

The sportswear company saw year-on-year losses of 189 per cent for the first two quarters, and narrowly avoided administration.

The Wigan-based firm said revenue had been impacted by the net reduction in store portfolio, but added they had made significant progress in reducing costs.

Sir David Jones, executive chairman of JJB Sports, said: 'The progress we have made since the start of 2009 in restructuring and refinancing this company is a result of the hard work and efforts of everyone throughout the business.

'Today's announcement shows a marked decline in ongoing retail operations compared to the same period last year largely because of stock shortages in our stores during the period.

'We are confident that the actions we have taken during the period to restructure the business will allow us to move forward and rebuild our stock inventory by the first quarter of 2010. Although the retail environment remains challenging, we are encouraged by the early signs of improvement in like-for-like sales trends and gross margins in recent weeks.'

JJB's report is in contrast to rival JD, who earlier this week recorded an eleven per cent rise in half year profits.