Next ups full year profit guidance to £1 billion after strong autumn trading
Next has announced that its full price sales were better than expected in its third quarter as it increased its full year profit guidance to over £1 billion.
In the 13 weeks to 26 October, the sales climbed by 7.6% year-on-year compared to a guidance of +5%.
The fashion and homewares retailer said the strong performance was driven by the early arrival of colder weather which encouraged shoppers to buy items such as knitwear and coats. This compares to the same period in 2023 when trading was impacted by unusually warm September and early October.
The quarter’s performance means that Next has now increased its guidance for fourth quarter full price sales growth by 1% to 3.5%. It is also upgrading its profit guidance for its full year from £995 million to £1.005 billion.
Next previously raised its full year profit guidance in September after a strong performance in the first half of its financial year,
In the six months to July, total group sales climbed by 8% to £2.95 billion while pre-tax profit increased by 7.1% to £452 million.
