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high street giant next It has again upgraded its profit guidance amid optimism ahead of the key Christmas period, allaying concerns of pressure on shoppers’ finances.
Shares of the company, which runs about 900 stores, surged on Wednesday morning.
The company, which is widely seen as a harbinger for the UK high street, said sales in the festive quarter would be significantly higher than previously predicted.
Next said it expects full value sales to rise about 7% in the January quarter, topping its guidance of 4.5%.
Still, this would represent a slight slowdown compared to the previous quarter, with the retailer also estimating UK sales growth to decline slightly.
It comes as Next reported that total full price sales in the 13 weeks to October 25 increased by 10.5% compared to the same period a year earlier.
In the UK, sales rose 5.4% during the quarter, driven by 7.8% online growth partly offset by a 2% increase in its stores, which exceeded its expectations amid recent warnings on the consumer backdrop.
Meanwhile, overseas sales soared 38.8% more during the quarter.
Next told investors it expected to make pre-tax profit of about £1.135 billion for the year to January, as it raised its guidance by about £30 million.
It’s the business’s latest profit upgrade, after rising expectations in July.
Julie Palmer, Partner Begbies Traynorsaid: “Next has once again proven why it is the gold standard in UK retail.
“With the guidance lifted and healthy sales growth both at home and abroad, the retail giant’s winning formula of tight cost controls, effective stock management and a well-balanced online and store offer is clearly working.
“At a time when many retailers are feeling pressured by rising costs, weak consumer confidence and uncertainty about the next BudgetNeXT appears to be largely immune to such pressures.