JD Sports on track to meet City forecasts Retail chain JD Sports Fashion today said its annual results should meet City expectations as it revealed a continued rise in sales for the third quarter. The group recently reported a 5.8 per cent rise in like-for-like sales at its core sportswear business for the first half of the year, and today said sales in the 16 weeks to Saturday grew "at very much the same level." JD, led by executive chairman Peter Cowgill, also said it was "pleased" with recent progress at its Blacks and Millets outdoor goods brands. The firm, which earlier this month paid an undisclosed sum for a controlling interest in Edinburgh-based outdoor clothing chain Tiso, said: "The result for the full year remains, as usual, substantially dependent on the sales and margin performance through the Christmas period and particularly in the last two weeks of December. At this stage the board believes the group remains on course to deliver earnings at least in line with current expectations. Freddie George, retail analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said the trading update was "markedly better than expected" and the broker has pencilled in a full-year pre-tax profit of £72 million.