Umbro PLC reported record Total Wholesale Equivalent (TWE) sales for the six months to 2 July 2006 materially ahead of 2005 and the previous tournament year in 2004 and in line with full year expectations.

Boosted by the World Cup and record sales of England licensed product ahead of the World Cup, including the best selling England away jersey of all time, TWE
sales of £247m for the first half are up 41% on 2005 and 26% on 2004.

UK TWE sales will be materially ahead of 2005 driven by the success of licensed product sales. The UK market remains highly competitive and against this
background, whilst non licensed TWE sales will be lower than 2005 at the half year, we expect this to show a small increase over the full year.

International TWE sales and royalty income has continued to grow as anticipated with Europe, Asia and Latin America all ahead of last year. In the USA, as previously indicated, TWE sales are less than 2005 driven by lower sales to Footlocker, although this will have little impact on profit versus 2005.

In addition, Umbro signed a 15 year Distribution and License agreement with Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the USA. This agreement will help drive sales of Umbro Performance and Branded products in the significant big box distribution channel.

As previously indicated, the effect of the World Cup tournament in 2006 is that sales and profits will be heavily weighted towards the first half of the year and the gross margin percentage on buy/sell sales will be lower due to a higher proportion of sales of England associated product.

In line with the agreement announced in 2005, Umbro has now received £24.5m from Chelsea Football Club as compensation for the early termination of the
sponsorship agreement. This leaves the business with net cash at this date.

Commenting on today’s statement, Peter McGuigan, Umbro CEO said, “We are pleased with Umbro’s performance to date. The World Cup has given the brand unparalleled exposure and we look forward to capitalizing on that with the
introduction of new product ranges and initiatives in the coming months, we remain confident about the future”