Next Q1 sales increase, maintains profit outlook

In the first quarter, full price sales at Next were up 5.7 percent versus last year, slightly ahead of the previous outlook of an increase of 5 percent.

Maintaining its sales and profit guidance for the full year, the company said in a statement that it continues to expect group profit before tax to be 960 million pounds, up 4.6 percent and group sales including subsidiary companies and markdown sales to be 6.2 billion pounds, an increase of 6 percent. Full price sales are forecasted to be 4.9 billion pounds, up 2.5 percent.

The company’s guidance for full price sales in the first half is to be up 2.5 percent, which implies that sales in the second quarter will be down 0.3 percent.

Next expects the sales performance in the second quarter to be weaker because last year benefited from particularly warm weather from late May through to the end of June.