LONDON, Aug 22 Reuters British sportswear retailer JD Sports Fashion reported a 2.4 rise in secondquarter underlying sales, an improvement on the previous quarter, but said it was cautious on its outlook for the rest of the year with the overall market remaining volatile.

The FTSE 100listed group, which sells Nike, Adidas, On, HOKA and other sports brands, on Thursday kept its guidance for fullyear 202425 profit before tax and adjusting items of 955 million pounds to 1.035 billion pounds 1.241.35 billion, up from the 917.2 million pounds made in 202324.

The global sports fashion industry is seeing a slowdown this year and there is a high rate of promotional activity in the market. Nike, the world39;s biggest sports brand by revenue, warned in June its sales would fall this year, though No. 2 Adidas has fared better.

Shares in JD Sports have slumped 23 this year, reflecting a January profit warning and Nike39;s underperformance, though the retailer has recently been subject to some vague bid speculation.

It said UK likeforlike sales fell 0.8 in the 13 weeks to August 3, its fiscal second quarter, having been down 6.4 in the first quarter.

Likeforlike sales were up 5.7 in North America, up 3.0 in Europe and up 0.1 in the Asia Pacific region.

The quarteronquarter trading improvement was driven primarily by the strength of our multibrand operating model and softer comparatives with the previous year, the group said.

The trading period included the Euro 2024 soccer…