The British retail group Next Plc achieved increases in sales and operating profit in the first half of the 2023/24 financial year. In view of the recent surprisingly positive development, the company again raised its annual forecasts, which had been increased just a few weeks ago, on Thursday.
According to the current interim report, group sales in the months from February to July amounted to 2.64 billion British pounds (3.05 billion euros). This corresponded to an increase of 5.4 percent compared to the same period last year.
Because costs were lower than expected, the retailer was also able to surprisingly significantly increase its earnings in the first half of the year. Operating profit grew by 5.2 percent to 456.4 million British pounds, profit before taxes increased by 4.8 percent and reached 419.8 million British pounds. However, due to higher tax burdens, the net profit attributable to shareholders fell slightly: at 321.8 million British pounds (371.8 million euros), it was 2.0 percent below the corresponding previous year’s level.
Management is now more confident than before for the second half of the year. The annual forecasts were raised again. The group now expects sales of non-discounted items to grow by 2.6 percent to 4.72 billion British pounds. Previously, only an increase of 1.8 percent had been forecast. The target for profit before tax adjusted for special items was increased from 845 million British pounds to 875 million British pounds.