// Next profits reach £823m in the year to January 2022, 10% above pre-pandemic levels
// Despite the increase, Next lowered forecast for its new financial year
Next full-year profits rose 10% on pre-pandemic levels but the retailer lowered expectations for its new financial year after the closure of its Russian and Ukraine websites.
The fashion retailer’s pre-tax profit reach £823 million in the year ending January 2022, 10% up on pre-pandemic levels and more than double its 2020/21 earnings.
Operating profit hit £905.4 million and marked a 103.7% spike year-on-year and a 6% uplift on pre-pandemic levels.
READ MORE: First look: Next brings Gap back to UK high street as Oxford Street concession opens
Total sales hit record levels of £4.86 billion during the period, a jump of 34.1% year-on-year and 11.5% on a two-year basis.
Full-price sales grew 32.4% compared to last year and 12.8% on pre-pandemic levels.
After a year that “exceeded all our expectations”, Next said it downgraded its profit forecasts for 2022/23 as a result of the “unusually high level of geopolitical and economic uncertainty”.
The retailer has lowered sales guidance by £85 million and profit guidance by £10 million following the closure of its websites in Ukraine and Russia, and “moderating growth expectations” in other overseas markets.
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