Sports Direct sees rise in sales

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/7896303.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Sports Direct has said it is sticking to its full-year profit target, as it reported a 12% rise in sales for the three months including Christmas.

The UK's biggest sports goods retailer said total sales for the 13 weeks to 25 January reached £355m, up from £317m for the same period a year earlier.

The firm, 71%-owned by Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, said it expected to make an annual profit of £135m.

This would be down from £150m for the previous 12 months to the end of April.

The company owns the Sports World chain of stores, as well as brands including Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop.

Sports Direct did not release any like-for-like sales data for the quarter, which strips out the impact of store openings and closures.

The company said that during the three-month period its UK division opened 11 new stores and shut 17, while its international division opened one new store and also closed one store.