Next has upgraded its profit guidance for the second time this year after full price sales performed better than expected.
The high street giant revealed it enjoyed a strong end of summer sale in the second quarter thanks to the “exceptionally warm weather” near the start of the period.
As a result, the group is raising its full year pre-tax profit guidance by £10m to £845m – an increase of £50m from its initial £795m forecast.
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Full price sales jumped 6.9% in the 13 weeks to 29 July, boosted by a 9.3% growth in the seven weeks to 17 June as shoppers turned to the high street during the early summer heatwave.
Next said its stock levels have been “well controlled” for the year and its clearance rates were “ahead of internal forecasts”, helping to add a further £4m to its pre-tax profits.
“The combination of £16m of additional full price sales in the last six weeks and improved clearance rates in out end-of-season summer sale mean that we expect to generate £10m more profit than we anticipated in our last trading statement,” the retailer said.
The update comes just six weeks after its last upgrade of profit expectations, increasing its initial forecast by £40m to £835m.
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