Britain's JD Sports Fashion Plc reported a 1.5 percent rise in comparable sales for 19 weeks, but said operating losses from its Blacks Leisure acquisition will continue to hit its results for the first half.

Photo: JD Sports

Shares in the company were up 4 percent at 631.4 pence at 0800 GMT on Wednesday on the London Stock Exchange.

"The market was discounting bad news but like-for-like sales has improved and the scale of the Blacks' losses is where we expected," said Oriel Securities analyst Jonathan Pritchard in a note to clients.

Cumulative comparable sales for the 19 weeks ended June 9 rose 1.5 percent, with sales from its sports outlets up 1.2 percent and fashion outlets up 3 percent.

The acquisition of outdoor clothing retailer Blacks Leisure in January wiped off 2.2 million pounds off JD Sport's profit for the year ended January 28.

The company, which sells merchandise from top brands like Nike and Adidas, expects an operating loss of 10 million pounds in Blacks in the current fiscal year. The company also said it could record up to 5 million pounds restructuring charge.

The bulk of the operating loss in Blacks would occur in the first half, the company said.

"Many believed that Blacks would lose more than 15 million pounds this year but losses are confirmed to be at this level," analyst Pritchard said.