JJB Sports has warned that full-year profits will come in around 20 per cent lower as a dismal summer and tough competition hit sales.
JJB, facing competition from discount retailers and supermarkets, said like-for-like sales for the 29 weeks to August 15th were 2 per cent lower than in the year ago period and pressured profit margins tightened further.
It said profit before tax and goodwill amortisation for the year ending January would likely be a fifth lower than analysts' expectations of £88 million sterling as a cool July and wet August turned shoppers away from summer clothing.
Shares in JJB slumped 19 per cent to 176 pence - their lowest level in over a year - when the market opened, before creeping back to 184p. The shares have underperformed London's retail sector by around a quarter in the past 12 months.
The fall compounded losses suffered last month when the firm said profit margins had stagnated, despite higher revenue from strong sales of replica shirts and other products linked to the Euro 2004 soccer championship earlier in the year.