The British clothing retailer Next Plc exceeded its own sales expectations in the Christmas business and then increased its forecasts for the entire 2023/24 financial year once again on Thursday.
In the nine weeks before December 30, 2023, revenue from non-reduced items increased by 5.7 percent compared to the same period last year, the company said in an interim statement. The retailer had previously only expected growth of 2.0 percent.
In view of the surprisingly positive results, management raised its targets for the 2023/24 financial year, which runs until the end of January. It now expects sales of items sold at full price to grow by 4.0 percent to 4.78 billion British pounds (5.54 billion euros). Previously, only an increase of 3.1 percent to 4.74 billion British pounds was expected.
The retailer is now targeting a 4.0 percent increase in profit before taxes to 905 million British pounds (1.05 billion euros). The previous forecast, which was only increased in November, was 885 million British pounds (+1.7 percent).
The company also published initial prospects for the coming 2024/25 financial year. Accordingly, reported group sales including contributions from subsidiaries are expected to grow by 6.0 percent. The retailer wants to increase its profit before taxes, adjusted for special effects, by 5.0 percent to 960 million British pounds.