Next maintains full-year guidance as Q3 sales rise

Retailer Next maintained its full-year guidance on Wednesday as it posted a rise in third-quarter sales.

In the 13 weeks to 29 October, full price sales were up 0.4% on the previous year, slightly ahead of the company’s expectations.

Online sales declined 1.9% during the quarter, while retail sales in the UK and Ireland were 3.1% higher.

Next maintained its guidance for full-year pre-tax profit of £840m, up 2.1% on the year, and earnings per share of 554.5p, up 4.5%. It also continues to expect sales for the rest of the year to fall 2.1%.

The company said full price sales in the last five weeks have been up 1.4%, underpinned by one particularly strong week at the end of September, when temperatures dropped and sales of heavier weight products improved.

At 0818 GMT, the shares were up 2.5% at 5,088p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Disaster has been averted. With many online fashion retailers struggling in recent months, and fears that the high street would see a massive slowdown in trade amid the cost-of-living crisis, Next’s trading statement could have been horrific.

"Instead, we find that a weak August was saved by a strong September followed by a mixed October. Add in a decent boost from finance interest income and you’ve got a resilient outturn with 0.4% sales growth for its third quarter. In this market, a tiny bit of growth is considered a big win."