JD Sports released its first-half results on Wednesday and while it had already issued a sales update last month, this release filled in the gaps on margins and profits, as well as giving monetary numbers rather than just percentages.

So, let’s look at those numbers for the six months to early August. The company saw reported sales growth of 18% (+20% at constant currency) to reach £5.94 billion, although this jump was driven by the acquisitions of Hibbett and Courir . The gross margin fell to 48% from 48.6%.

Operating profit fell 8.2% on a reported basis to £369 million and the operating margin was down to 6.2% from 8%. Profit before tax and adjusting items dropped 13.5% to £351 million. On a statutory basis, however, operating profit rose 33.2% to £389 million and profit before tax

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