Billionaire’s JD Sports Unveils Record Results Despite Market Volatility

Retailing giant JD Sports Fashion said it achieved record earnings in the first half of the year despite having to contend with a “volatile global marketplace.”

The London-listed retailer, which is controlled by the Rubin family’s Pentland Group, reported Wednesday that its revenue had climbed to more than £5 billion ($6.6 billion), a 5.2% jump from a year earlier.

The sportswear retailer said it continued to outperform the sector in the first half, citing the company’s like-for-like sales growth of 0.7% and underlying operating margins that were in line with last year.

JD Sports said its profit before tax climbed 2% to £405 million, while reiterating its full-year guidance range of £955-£1,035 million.

CEO Régis Schultz also highlighted some of the potential benefits of the retailer’s recently completed purchase of U.S. sportswear retailer Hibbett, a deal that expanded JD Sports network with an additional 1,179 stores across 36 states.

“Our acquisition of Hibbett, which completed just before the period end, is a key milestone in our international development and advances the global nature of the group through our strengthened position in the U.S.,” Schultz said. “I remain confident in the delivery of our exciting growth plans for North America and that the group is well positioned to continue growing share in the world’s largest sportswear market.”

The acquisition gives JD Sports a worldwide network of 4,506 stores across the U.K., Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific. The retailer says its aiming to become the “leading global sports fashion powerhouse.”

JD Sports is majority owned by the Pentland Group, which also owns brands like Speedo, Berghaus, Mitre and Canterbury of New Zealand. The group says it has annual sales of $8 billion and its businesses employ more 76,000 people.

Pentland is a family-run business belonging to the Rubins. The group’s current chairman is Stephen Rubin, having taken over from his father in 1969. His parents, Berko and Minnie Rubin, an immigrant couple from eastern Europe, founded the company back in 1932. Stephen is featured on the Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires list with a fortune currently estimated at 3.1 billion.