Next has once again raised its profit target after reporting stronger-than-expected trading during the first half of the year. The FTSE 100 retailer now anticipates a full-year pre-tax profit of £1.26bn, attributing this to higher sales and cost efficiencies in its warehouse operations.
For the six months to July, Next's group sales increased by nine per cent, leading to a pre-tax profit of £569m. This figure represents a 10.5 per cent rise compared to the previous year.
The company saw a 7.4 per cent increase in UK online sales, surpassing its earlier guidance of 4.6 per cent. In-store sales experienced a decline of 1.7 per cent, which was less than the 3.3 per cent fall the retailer had expected.
Earlier this year, Next had already adjusted its full-year profit target upwards by £25m to £1.24bn, following an unexpected £70m boost in sales.