Umbro secures World Cup boost

Sports kit maker Umbro said today it had experienced “unparalleled global exposure” during the summer’s football World Cup as it saw profits boom by 55%.

The company said the prime driver had been sales of England kit with the team’s red away shirt becoming its best selling jersey of all time.

The clamour for Three Lions shirts helped boost sales by 42% to £249.3m (€367.2m) with the company also producing kit for the Swedish team during the competition.

It meant pre-tax profits before exceptionals for the six months to July 2 increased to £17.7m (€26m) compared with £11.4m (€16.8m) last year.

Chief executive Peter McGuigan said: “The brand enjoyed unparalleled global exposures during the World Cup in Germany and with further initiatives that we have planned for the remainder of 2006 and beyond, we remain confident of a satisfactory outcome for the year and remain confident of enhancing shareholder value.”