British fashion retailer Next has revised its profit forecast upward once again after experiencing a robust Christmas season.
In the nine weeks leading up to 28 December 2024, the company experienced a 6.0% increase in total full price sales compared to the same period last fiscal.
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This growth includes the impact of the end-of-season sale’s timing, which grew 13% against last year.
Full price sales for total online UK rose by 6.1%, with Online Next UK growing by 3.8% and Online Label UK by 9.2%. A substantial 31.4% increase was seen in Online overseas sales.
The company’s total product full price sales also saw an uptick of 6.3% during the period. When adjusted for the sale’s timing, underlying full price sales were up by 5.7%, surpassing the previously projected 3.5%.
For the full year 2024/25, Next now expects full price sales to reach £5.05bn, marking a 5.5% increase from the previous fiscal year, which is higher than the initially anticipated 4.9% growth.
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By GlobalDataThis performance has led to an additional £27m in full price sales, prompting Next to revise its full-year guidance for group profit before tax (PBT) upwards to £1.01bn.
The revised group PBT is now expected to rise by 10.0%, an adjustment from the previously forecasted 9.5% growth.
Next’s pre-tax earnings per share (EPS) are anticipated to climb by 11.4% to 843.8p.
The company also forecasts a reduction in net debt (excluding lease liabilities) to approximately £625m at the fiscal year-end, down from £700m last year.
Looking ahead to the full fiscal year of 2025/26, Next projects full price sales of £5.22bn, which would be a 3.5% increase from the previous fiscal year.
The group’s PBT is expected to grow by 3.6% to £1.04bn during this period, with pre-tax EPS estimated to rise by 6.7% to 900.2p.
The financial year ending in January 2026 consists of 53 weeks. The guidance provided above is based on a 52-week period.
