JJB Sports, the United Kingdom's second-largest sporting-goods retailer, fell as much as 53 percent in London trading after the company reported a first-half loss, halted dividend payments and cut its annual profit forecast.

JJB declined 55 pence to close at 49 pence, the steepest drop since the company's 1994 initial public offering.

Pretax profit for the year to January will be 15 million pounds (US$27.7 million) to 20 million pounds, Chief Executive Officer Chris Ronnie told Bloomberg News yesterday. Analysts had estimated profit of about 30 million pounds.

Difficult economic conditions will probably last until 2010, Ronnie said. UK consumer confidence was near a record low in August, as shoppers fretted over increased food, energy and mortgage bills. JJB's auditors, Deloitte & Touche, said there may be "significant doubt" about the viability of the retailer, which reported a first-half net loss from continuing operations of 263,000 pounds.

"This is now a high-risk stock with little visibility on earnings or whether it can actually successfully remain a going concern," Dresdner Kleinwort analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi said. He cut his rating to "sell" from "hold."

Sales declines have worsened since the first half, JJB said. Revenue at retail outlets open at least a year fell 4.2 percent in the six months that ended on July 27. The drop accelerated to 5.6 percent in the 34 weeks that ended on September 21.

"It's extremely challenging out there on the high street," the CEO said.