Strong year for Next but future is less certain
FASHION giant Next has seen an impressive increase in full-year revenue and profits, driven by an 8% increase in the online and catalogue side of the business.
The FTSE 100 company saw pre-tax profit increase 5.2% to £836.1m on a turnover that increased 4.4% to £4.2bn (2015: £4bn) in the full year to January 2016.
The retail division was responsible for £2.37bn of that turnover – an uplift of 1% on the previous year – but it was the directory side of the business that showed a stellar performace, with revenues up by 8% to £1.66bn.
But the company warned that 2016 will be a challenging year with much uncertainty in the global economy – chief executive Lord Wolfson said that it “may well be the toughest we have faced since 2008”.
He added: “It looks as though we may be set for a challenging year, with economic and cyclical factors potentially working against us.
“We are very clear on our priorities going forward and whatever challenges we may face, it is important that we remain focused on ensuring that the company’s product, marketing, services and cost controls all improve in the year ahead.”
Estimates for pre-tax profit performance for the current financial year were £784m to £858m.
