On Wednesday, Next shareholders cheered a brief, yet upbeat, trading statement from the retail bellwether after a solid quarter of sales growth driven by online activity.
Next shares rose 2% in early trade after reporting a 4% increase in full price sales for the third quarter compared to last year, beating guidance of 2% growth.
Strong performance in the most recent quarter gave the fashion retailer the confidence to increase its profit forecast by £10 million to £885 million for the full year.
Full price sales were up across both online and retail divisions in Q3 and year-to-date. However, performance varied week-to-week due to changing weather impacting shopping patterns and Next believes sales volatility reflects weather conditions rather than underlying consumer demand.
This is certainly an optimistic assertion, given the softer UK economic conditions creeping in in recent months. That said, Next has consistently surprised to the upside this year and seems immune to wider economic concerns.
The company raised its full year guidance for full price sales growth to 3.1% and pre-tax profit to £885 million, up from previous guidance of 2.6% sales growth and £875 million profit. Next also increased its earnings per share outlook based on higher projected profit.