Clothing retailer Next has ramped up its profit guidance again today after its sales soared in its first half of the year.
The London-listed high street darling, which outperformed expectations in its first quarter, said it now expects its profit for the year to reach £980m, some £20m more than the group had previously predicted and an increase of 6.7 per cent on last year’s figure.
This is the eighth time in a row that Next has upgraded guidance in its market updates.
It comes after Next saw its total sales increase by eight per cent in the six months ending August 1, driven by a 4.4 per cent rise in its full price sales. Bosses said this was down in part to its acquisition of the clothing brand Fat Face and an increase in its shareholding in Reiss to 51 per cent.
The group’s online sales increased by 8.4 per cent during the half, with overseas orders growing by 22.8 per cent on the same period last year.
The retailer said this strong performance was despite predictions that overall sales would be down 0.3 per cent from the first half of last year when “exceptionally favourable weather” triggered strong demand for its clothing.
In a statement this morning, Next said: “We are maintaining our guidance for full price sales in the second half to be up 2.5 per cent versus last year.
“This might seem cautious when compared with the performance in the first half, which was up 4.4 per cent. However, when compared to two years ago growth in the first half and the forecast for the second half are almost identical.”
Next yesterday announced a buyback of 11,600 of its own shares at prices ranging between 9040p and 9176p per share, as part of a previously announced buyback program.
Following this buyback, Next’s remaining share capital totals 126,008,318 shares.