Bury-based FTSE 100 retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc said on Thursday it will delay the announcement of its final results for the 52 week period to January 29, 2022, partly “to allow the group to report on the outcome of the divestment of Footasylum Limited with greater certainty.”

JD Sports said the delay will also enable the group to complete a review of its governance procedures and policies “in light of the ongoing process to divide the current joint role of executive chairman and chief executive officer.”

JD Sports also published an update on trading saying that full year results are expected to be slightly ahead of previous expectations and that headline profit before tax and exceptional items for the year ended January 29, 2022, is now expected to be at least £900 million.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on February 14 that JD Sports and Rochdale-based Footasylum were fined almost £5 million “after breaching the rules around a merger blocked by the CMA.”

JD Sports said: “In the trading update on 12 January 2022, the group announced that total revenues for the twenty-two week period to 1 January 2022 in the group’s like for like businesses were more than 10% ahead of the same period in 2020 with an equally positive performance across the Black Friday and Christmas period.

“This positive performance continued into January and, as a result, full year results are expected to be slightly ahead of previous expectations.

“Headline profit before tax and exceptional items for the year ended 29 January 2022 is now expected to be at least £900 million.

“Separately, the group has agreed with its auditors, KPMG LLP, to delay the announcement of its final results for the 52 week period to 29 January 2022 to ensure that KPMG have sufficient time to complete its global audit procedures and to allow the group to report on the outcome of the divestment of Footasylum Limited with greater certainty.

“Further, it will also enable the group to complete a review of its governance procedures and policies in light of the ongoing process to divide the current joint role of executive chairman and chief executive officer which the group expects to update on as part of its final results.

“The group will make a further announcement on the timetable for announcing its final results in due course.”