Next PLC (LSE:NXT) shares jumped 8% to a new all-time high of 10,880p after it announced its first billion-pound annual profit and said full-price sales in the first eight weeks of the new financial year have been ahead of expectations.
The clothing retailer upgraded its revenue and profit guidance for the year to January 2026 as a result, even though profits from UK stores is expected to fall due to rising costs and slower like-for-like sales.
For the past year, full price sales rose 5.8% and total group sales 8.2% to £6.3 billion, the FTSE 100-listed group reported. Adjusted profit before tax increased 10.1% to £1.01 billion, as it had indicated two months ago.
Statutory PBT fell 2.8% to £987 million as a result of two non-cash exceptional gains from the acquisition of Reiss and relating to the defined benefit pension scheme.
The board proposed a final ordinary dividend of 158p, to be paid on 1 August 2025, taking the ordinary dividend for the year to 233p, and said it anticipates returning £316 million to shareholders via share buybacks.
On the outlook, Next provided new guidance for the first six months to 31 July, where full-price sales are expected to increase 6.5%, up from the previous indication of 3.5%, resulting in sales for the full-year being up 5.0%, also up from 3.5%.
Pre-tax profit guidance, as a result, increased by £20 million to £1.066 billion, up 5.4%, with anticipated share buybacks expected to result in post-tax earnings per share climbing 8.5%.
** Update: Adds share price **