Sportswear retailer JD Sports said on Wednesday it was on track to deliver headline annual pre-tax profit at least equal to current consensus market expectations as it opened new stores.

The company, which recently bought US-based Finish Line and smaller rival Footasylum, said it opened 29 new stores in the period to June 29th, mainly in Europe, Asia-Pacific and Australia.

JD Sports has been riding millennials’ fondness for athleisure wear, which powered better-than-expected full-year earnings earlier this year. The company said it was confident of delivering headline annual pre-tax profit at least equal to current consensus market expectations.

It also expects to achieve “encouraging” like-for-like sales growth in its core sports fashion business, both in the UK and other global markets since reporting its annual results for the year ended February 2nd.

“We didn’t expect such high level of sales growth to persist, but it has,” Peel Hunt analysts said, calling the like-for-like growth “highly impressive”. – Reuters