* H1 pretax profit 101 million pounds vs 71.9 million
* Revenue 820 million pounds, up 8.3 percent
* Net debt cut a quarter to 234 million stg, no dividend
* Trading since end-October in line with expectations
* Shares up 2.5 percent, high three-year high
(Adds detail, CEO, analyst comment, shares)
By James Davey
LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Sports Direct, Britain's biggest sporting goods retailer, said the recent cold snap had been a "net positive" as winter products flew off its shelves, boosting its shares to a three-year high.
Thursday's update from the group controlled by millionaire Newcastle United soccer club owner Mike Ashley was in stark contrast to struggling rival JJB Sports, which issued a profit warning earlier this month, blaming severe winter weather as a contributory factor.
"With us you get a lot of product which is very appropriate for this type of weather and we would benefit from having a lot of winter coats, footwear, gloves, hats and scarves," Chief Executive Dave Forsey told reporters, adding the company had sold 30,000 sledges this winter.
He said snow-related disruption in parts of the country had also driven traffic to the internet business of the group which owns Sports World and Lillywhites stores as well as brands including Slazenger, Lonsdale and Dunlop.
Forsey said a step-up in Sports Direct's television advertising in December was not designed to hit JJB while it was in trouble. "We concentrate on our own business," he said, noting the campaign was designed "to reinforce the value that we offer and the range of products that we offer in these times".
Separately a survey said the expected return of severe winter weather to Britain in the coming days could plunge retailers into the red over their peak Christmas trading period.
FASTEST PACE
The survey by GfK NOP found 30 percent of all festive shopping in Britain was done in the two weeks before Christmas.
That could spell trouble for store groups, despite a survey on Wednesday which showed British retail sales rising at their fastest pace since 2002.
Shares in Sports Direct were up 2.5 percent at 149.6 pence at 1016 GMT, having touched a high of 155p, their highest since October 2007 and valuing the business at 859 million pounds ($1.4 billion).
The company posted a 40 percent rise in first-half profit, helped by a boost from this summer's soccer World Cup.
The group said it continued to perform strongly in the first two months of its second half.
It said that although it was anticipating a tough start to 2011 it was confident of reaching its full-year to end-April target of underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 195 million pounds, inclusive of a 10 million pounds staff bonus.
Andrew Wade, analyst at Numis Securities, said: "After such a strong H1, we now expect the company to beat this (target) and raise our April 11 EBITDA forecast to 205 million pounds."
Sports Direct made an underlying profit before tax of 100.7 million pounds for the 26 weeks to Oct. 24, up from 71.9 million in the same period last year.
Revenue increased 8.3 percent to 819.9 million pounds, while gross margin was up 190 basis points to 42.6 percent.
Forsey estimated World Cup-related trade contributed between 15 million pounds and 20 million of EBITDA.
The firm cut its net debt by 25.1 percent to 233.6 million pounds but, as was the case last year, is not paying a dividend.
Prior to Thursday's update shares in Sports Direct had increased by 48 percent over the last year, outperforming a 4 percent fall in the UK general retailers index. The stock floated at 300 pence in 2007. Ashley owns 71 percent of the equity. (Editing by Mark Potter and David Holmes) ($1=.6384 Pound)