The group reported pre-tax profits of £324 million for the year to January 30, down from £348.5 million the previous year, even though revenues edged higher to £6.17 billion from £6.11 billion.

But JD Sports said it expects headline group pre-tax profits for the year to next January to surge to between £475 million and £500 million.

On an underlying basis, JD Sports said annual pre-tax profits fell to £421.3 million from £438.8 million the previous year.

Peter Cowgill, executive chairman of JD Sports, said: “The global Covid-19 pandemic and, more recently, the UK’s formal exit from the European Union have presented a series of unprecedented challenges which have severely tested all aspects of our business including our multichannel capabilities, the robustness of our operational infrastructure and the resilience of our colleagues.”

He added: “Whilst we must recognise the substantial level of temporary store closures to date and ongoing, we remain confident that we are well placed to benefit from the opportunities that prevail and, at this early stage, our current best estimate is that the group headline profit before tax for the full year to 29 January 2022 will be in the range of £475 million to £500 million.”