Having upgraded profit guidance only last month, Next PLC (LSE:NXT) looks set to impress investors with its interim results on Thursday 21 September.
Any forward-looking statement will be welcomed by shareholders, as the UK retail bellwether will be aiming to continue good momentum into the run-up to Christmas.
Under chief executive Simon Wolfson, Next’s mantra has always been to under-promise and over-deliver and it was no different in August when the group upped earlier profit guidance by another £10 million, sending shares higher and emphasised the better-than-expected second-quarter sales.
Full-price sales in the second quarter were up 6.9% compared to last year, driven by a period of warm weather which led to revenue growth 3.7% higher than anticipated.
In the statement's detailed breakdown, online sales showed significant growth at 10%, while store sales increased by 2.2%.
Some analysts, like those at Shore Capital, have been “encouraged” by the upgrades, including improved clearance rates and the positive outlook, though analysts at Deutsche Bank reckon more value can be found elsewhere.
For the full-year results, pre-tax profit guidance is for £845 million, a 3% drop on last year’s £870 million due to higher wage and utility bills.
In the generally quieter first half, Next generated pre-tax profit of £401 million a year ago.
As for the dividend, last time we saw an interim distribution of 66p, with analysts looking for pretty much the same next week.