JD Sports is a fantastic example of a British company dominating its domestic market and replicating this success through overseas expansion.

Shares in the sports fashion retailer were 6% higher in early trade on Thursday after announcing robust organic growth mainly driven by growth in North America, Europe and Asia.

“We have delivered a strong first half to our financial period with organic sales growth of 12% and profit on track for the full year,” said Régis Schultz, Chief Executive Officer of JD Sports Fashion.

“In line with our strategic plan, growth is being driven by our premium Sports Fashion business with an impressive performance in Europe (+27%) and North America (+15%), supported by a strong performance in our more mature UK market (+8%). This performance continued in the important back to school period.”

Investors will be pleased with progress in North America which represents a substantial growth opportunity for the company. However, the most exciting source of growth was Europe and Asia Pacific where JD recorded organic growth of 26.9% and 25.6% respectively.

UK revenue grew 7% to £1.2bn.

“It’s a tough place for consumer-facing companies given the uncertain macro backdrop. Consumer confidence remains fragile even though there are signs of a slowdown in the rate of inflation,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Selling trainers and tracksuits can be big business and many people aspire to own the latest products. That said, these items aren’t cheap and so just because someone wants something doesn’t mean they can always afford it. JD Sports is aware of this situation and rightfully doesn’t assume its goods will continue to fly off the shelf at pace.

“While it is good practice to be cautious, JD Sports’ results still show a business in good health. Sales, profits and dividends are all up, it is investing in the business to support geographic growth, and it is finding new ways to keep customers happy and on its side.

“That includes a loyalty scheme trial in the UK for 10 stores in Manchester which involves customers collecting a virtual JD currency that can be used towards future purchases. These initiatives can be easy wins for retailers.”

Cost-of-living crisis? What cost-of-living crisis? This is certainly the impression Next’s half-year report gave on Thursday.

Next shares were 2% higher in early trading on Thursday after the high-street bellwether said profit before tax rose 4.8% to £420m in the first half.

Shaking off any concerns about the health of the consumer, Next also increased its full-year profit before tax guidance increased from £845m to £875m. This constitutes a 0.5% increase on the last full year.

“Next has pulled another rabbit out of the hat today, leading to a further upgrade to its full-year sales and profit guidance,” said Charlie Huggins, fund manager at Wealth Club.

“UK consumer spending appears to have defied gravity. A strong employment market and rising wages have helped cushion inflationary cost pressures, meaning consumers have continued to spend, despite the gloomy economic headlines.

“Not all retailers have benefited, as the travails of Wilko show. Next has capitalised by doing the simple things well. Once again its operational execution continues to outshine almost all of its competitors.”

Although Next’s increased sales will play a major part in meeting its full-year profit guidance, the company has successfully reduced costs and streamlined its online business which will help the bottom line through the rest of the year.

“If you have an idea of the challenges on the horizon, it’s possible to put your business in the right shape to survive. That seems to be Next’s approach, as it has benefited from focusing on key cogs in the business to navigate the difficult market environment,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Broadening its product offering, making sure the online service is as efficient as possible and keeping a sharp eye on costs have all been key focal points and Next has come out on top. These factors and steady demand from customers have enabled it to raise profit expectations.”

The FTSE 100 was charging in tomorrow’s Bank of England decision after UK inflation came in lower than estimated casting doubt over whether UK rates would indeed rise to 5.5%.

A UK CPI reading of 6.7% sparked a rally in London’s leading index as investors reacted to a chance the Bank of England sees the lower inflation rate as reason enough to hold off hiking rates – if not tomorrow at subsequent meetings.

Just yesterday there was little doubt UK rates were rising to 5.5% but the FTSE 100 surged 0.8% to 7,721 in afternoon trade as investors priced an upset to prior market consensus.

“UK shares enjoyed a strong start to the day after a surprise fall in UK inflation data. The FTSE 250 index jumped 1.3% to 18,667, led by housebuilders, builders’ merchants and property companies,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Weaker inflation fuels the argument that interest rates no longer need to go up, or at least not by much more. That would be positive for property-related companies as well as retailers because consumers would, in theory, no longer face additional pressures on their finances.

“The FTSE 100 displayed similar trends, with housebuilders and property groups soaring, while the likes of B&M, JD Sports and Next were in demand.

“We could still get another rate rise from the Bank of England tomorrow, but the latest inflation data increases the chance that a further rate hike could be the last in the current cycle.”

As one would expect, housebuilders were leading the FTSE 100’s charge with Taylor Wimpey up 5.4% and Barratt Developments gaining 4%.

M&G was 2% higher after issuing a positive first-half report. Profits soared as the group continued a three-year trend of positive inflows despite challenging macro influences.

Bargain hunters stepped into Kingfisher after a sharp decline yesterday with shares adding around 3%.

Finsbury Food (LON: FIF) is recommending a 110p/share bid by a company backed by DBAY Advisors valuing the cake maker at £143.4m. There is a non-voting share alternative to the cash bid for eligible investors. The bid is less than ten times prospective earnings. The share price has not been at this level since early 2019. The share price moved ahead by 23% to 109.5p. Finsbury Food is one of the companies that has been on AIM the longest, although it has not always been a food company over more than a quarter of a century.

Clean water technology developer MYCELX Technologies Corp (LON: MYX) increased interim revenues by 51% to $5.6m and reduced its loss. Canaccord Genuity forecasts a full year loss of $1.6m and it expects at least breakeven in 2024. The share price jumped 24.7% to 60.5p.

Yesterday evening, Seed Innovations (LON: SEED) announced plans to buyback up to £850,000 of shares. The maximum number of shares is 21.5 million. The share price rose 17.5% to 3.7p, which is above estimated NAV.

Wishbone Gold (LON: WSBN) says drilling has started at the Red Setter project in Western Australia. Initial targets are at a shallow depth and the company is seeking broad spreads of mineralisation. The share price increased 15.2% to 2.65p.

Thor Energy (LON: THR) has raised A$1m via a placing at 4.2 cents/share to fund exploration in the Uravan belt. There is a 4,000 metre programme of reverse circulation drilling at the Radium Mountain/ Wedding Bell project in Colorado. This will be a follow up drilling campaign at Vanadium King project in Utah. The share price is 14.8% higher at 1.75p.

FALLERS

Late yesterday, online publisher Digitalbox (LON: DBOX) said interim revenues were £1.2m, which was ahead of expectations, but in the second half traffic numbers have been poor. That is due to less traffic coming from Alphabet and Meta, which are trying to retain traffic. Other changes from sources of traffic are also affecting the figures. Although traffic is down, the session values of higher. Digitalbox says it will still be profitable in 2023. The share price dived 28.6% to 3.75p.

Brandshield Systems (LON: BRSD) is raising money and planning to cancel the AIM quotation. A subscription will raise £2.68m at 5.68p/share, while a one-for-two open offer could raise up to £2.2m. This is a premium to the previous market price. The share price slumped 22.2% to 3.5p, which is a new low. The cybersecurity company, which reversed into a shell in December 2020, wants to reduce its cash burn. Leaving AIM is part of the cost reductions. The near-term focus will be growing revenues.

Interim sales of Tandem Group (LON: TND) fell 24% and it slumped into loss. Management still believes that the distributor of toys and leisure products could breakeven for the year as a whole. Net debt was £3.1m at the end of June 2023. There have been technical breaches on a property loan and Tandem hopes to consolidate its borrowings on a long-term basis by the end of the year. The share price fell 21% to 166p. Longboat Energy (LON: LBE) says that the gas discovery at the Velocette exploration well was sub-commercial. It could be an indication of other gas reservoirs in the area. The share price slipped 13% to 20p.