British fashion retailer Next on Tuesday reported a better-than-expected 10.6% increase in full-price sales for the nine weeks to December 27 and edged up its annual profit guidance for the fifth time over the last year.
Subdued UK consumer confidence ahead of Christmas coupled with unseasonably mild weather had left analysts cautious about clothing retailers' festive trading prospects.
However, Next reported a 5.9% increase in UK sales year-on-year, with international sales up 38.3%.
According to Reuters, the group said it now expected to report a pretax profit of 1.15 billion pounds ($1.56 billion) for its year to January 2026, up from previous guidance of 1.135 billion pounds and the 1.011 billion pounds it made in 2024/25 when it breached the 1 billion pounds mark for the first time.
Next forecast a further 4.5% increase in profit to 1.202 billion pounds for its 2026/27 year, on full-price sales up 4.5%.
Shares in Next have risen 43% over the last year.
