Revenue and EBITDA took a big step forward at Greater Manchester-headquartered Footasylum in the year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, new figures have confirmed.
For the 49 weeks to 1 February 2020, the Bury-based company posted a statutory underlying EBITDA of £25.4m, a rise of more than 1,000% from the £2.2m it reported in the prior period.
The number of Footasylum stores also increased from 65 to 69 while its gross profits went from £95.2m to £108.4m and its revenue rose from £227.3m to £248.7m.
Over the same period, its pre-tax losses went from £6.2m to £6.3m.
The results have been filed with Companies House while Footasylum's acquisition by JD Sports is still facing opposition by the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA).
JD Sports Fashion snapped up the entire share capital of Footasylum in 2019 before the CMA concluded in May 2020 that the merger would result in a "substantial lessening of competition".
Although JD Sports has already bought Footasylum, the two businesses are currently held separate.
The CMA decided that JD Sports should sell the company in its entirety but in November last year the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) quashed that order.
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The watchdog then appealed that decision in December 2020, a final conclusion for which has not yet been made.
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A statement signed off by the board said: "Throughout FY21 our retail stores have had significant disruption to trading with several closure periods caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Our priorities have been to ensure the safety of our colleagues and customers, to preserve financial resources and limit the impact on profitability.
"We continue to maintain strict social distancing in our warehouses and have invested in our store estate to assist distancing.
"Demand has remained resilient throughout FY21 with consumers readily switching to online channels reflecting the benefits of an agile omni-channel approach which has been developed over several years.
"For FY22, the group is planning to maintain a similar level of its store base and store performance, with continued growth in profitability.
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"The group will continue to focus on robust cost control, streamlining and improvements to delivery efficiencies and savings.
"The board continues to maintain its strong focus on cash and working capital management."