Rinse, repeat: Next upgrades profit guidance yet again
Next has increased its full year profit guidance by £10m as the Autumn season and cooler weather ring in sales — particularly online.
In a trading update to investors today, the retail giant said full-price sales for its third quarter ending in October were up 4 per cent, £23m ahead of original guidance.
Online sales seemed to have trumped retail sales in the third quarter, with online seeing an increase of 6.5 per cent and retail falling to -0.6 per cent.
This could be attributed to the colder months nearing, as more people prefer to shop online from the comfort of their own home.
The retailer believes Autumn’s cooler weather is beneficial for sales: “We believe the volatility in sales performance is a result of changing weather conditions rather than any underlying changes in the consumer economy.”
It is the latest in a string of consecutive guidance upgrades from the high street bellwether, coming just six weeks after the last one.
Despite its positive outlook for the months behind and ahead, Next had also seen a favourable summer despite a bruising wider economic environment.
As the warm weather drove punters through the door, the retailer had confirmed full-price sales were up 6.9 per cent in its half year trading update.
One analyst said the upgrade and trading update were “better than expected,” with the firm now expecting profit of £645m on the year – a £10m bump on its last guidance.