Next upgrades profit forecast after strong first half

Next, the Enderby retail giant, has upgraded its full-year profit expectations after a strong first half performance.

Sales during the period rose by 8% and Next has revised its surplus forecast upwards by £20m to £980m – up by 6.7% on 2023. The profit improvement comes from additional sales (£11m) and cost savings (£9m), mainly in logistics.

In statement, the firm said: “The weather last summer was exceptionally favourable for clothing retailers, so we had planned for full price sales to be down -0.3% in the second quarter this year. Our full price sales in the UK (Online and Retail combined) were only slightly ahead of our expectations, up +0.4%; Overseas sales online were much better than expected, and were up +21.9%.

“Group sales, which includes sales in our subsidiaries, were up +8% in the first half. The additional growth in group sales came from the acquisition of FatFace and an increase in our shareholding in Reiss, both of which occurred in Q3 last year.”

Next’s share price has risen steadily over the past week and closed at £90.74 on Wednesday (July 31).