// Next reaffirms its full-year guidance that was cut in September as sales rise 0.4% in its third quarter
// It still expected full-price sales for the rest of its 2022-23 year to fall 2% and a full-year pretax profit of £840 million
Next full-price sales edged up 0.4% in the thirteen weeks to 29 October, slightly ahead of expectations.
Full-price sales in the last five weeks were up 1.4%, boosted by one particularly strong week at the end of September when temperatures dropped and sales of heavier-weight products improved.
As a result, the high street retailer will be maintain its guidance for full-year pre-tax profit at £840m, up 2.1% versus last year.
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Wealth Club head of equities Charlie Huggins said: “After Next cut its sales and profit forecasts 5 weeks ago, the fact it’s maintaining guidance today comes as a relief.
“However, this reasonable progress masks considerable weekly volatility. The last week of September shows sales up a stellar 11%, but in the middle of October sales fell by 3.7%.
“These are quite large fluctuations and may say something about the fragile state of the economy.”
Next remains cautious for the remainder of the year as it expects sales to fall by 2%.
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