Next reports that its full-price sales were up +9.2% YoY in Q2, materially ahead of its forecast for the period of 4.0% growth.
Sales were £70m ahead of forecast (£19m in the UK and £51m overseas), the retailer attributing this over-performance to the weather being warmer than expected, the release of some pent-up demand in the Middle East and Northern Europe after a weaker Q1 in both, and the retailer's ability to spend much more on profitable marketing than anticipated.
Accordingly, the retailer has increased its FY pre-tax profit guidance by £25m to £1,243m (up +7.3% YoY). It adds that there are two elements to this upgrade: the addition of £70m of full-price sales adding £15m of profit; and the fact that the performance of its equity investments has been better than expected, boosting the full-year profit forecast by +£10m.
Next is maintaining its guidance for sales for the rest of the year to be up 5.0% YoY. In the UK, it expects sales in H2 to be up 2.8% YoY, in line with its performance in Q2.
