LONDON, Sept 19 (Askume) – British clothing retailer Next (NXT.L) said on Thursday it expects annual profit of about 1 billion pounds ($1.3 billion) after reporting better-than-expected profits in recent months, the second forecast in two months.
Its shares opened 5% up.
Next, which has more than 800 stores in the UK and Ireland and around 8 million online customers, is often cited as a useful measure of consumer performance.
In addition, around two million foreign customers shop through its website, and even more customers purchase its products through third-party websites or so-called aggregators.
The group reported a 7.1% rise in pre-tax profit and a 4.4% increase in full-price sales from January to July, and said full-price sales in the first six weeks of the second half of the financial year “exceeded expectations”.
As a result, Nextel raised its sales growth forecast for the second half to 3.7% from a previous forecast of 2.5%.
The company now expects full-year pre-tax profits to reach £995 million, up from previous guidance of £980 million, and grow 8.4% in 2023/24.
The textile industry subsequently faced difficult times, with an unusually cold spring and a cool and wet early summer, while the cost-of-living crisis continued to drive discretionary spending.
The group has benefited from growth in online sales, particularly overseas .
Rivals Primark ( ABF.L ) , John Lewis , Zara owner Inditex ( ITX.MC ) and H&M ( HMb.ST ) have all highlighted the impact of unseasonal weather on sales.
Next said the average selling price of similar products this year was “slightly lower” than last year.
The company is regarded by analysts as one of the UK’s best retailers, with its shares rising by almost half in the past year and hitting a record high this week.
($1 = 0.7545 British pounds)
