Next unveils 10% profits increase
High street giant Next unveiled a 10% jump in profits in the first half of the year today but warned that August and September had been “unusually quiet”.
The fashion and homewares chain, which has around 540 stores, said it was still on course to meet full-year profits of between £575 million and £620 million.
The group reported pre-tax profits of £251 million in the six months to July as new stores and strong online sales offset lower sales from shops open more than a year.
A decline in like-for-like sales hit profits by £18 million, Next said, while new space added £14 million and growth in online sales added a further £26 million.
Next published its half-year results at the same time as department store chain John Lewis – which saw like-for-like sales growth of 9.2% in the six months to July 28 and nearly tripled operating profits at £45.6 million.
Next chief executive Lord Simon Wolfson said the retail sector and wider economy was subdued and would not see a return to boom for “some time to come”.
