Interim profits, sales surge at Next but outlook cautious

(Sharecast News) - High street retailer Next posted a surge in earnings on Thursday, boosted by bumper international sales, sunny weather and disruption at Marks & Spencer. But the FTSE 100 group also sounded a more cautious note going forward, weighing on the shares.

Total group sales, which include discounted items, rose 10.3% in the six months to July 2025, to £3.2bn, while pre-tax profits rallied 13.8% at £515m. Full-price sales were up 10.9%.

The fashion and homewares retailer said it had enjoyed an especially strong second quarter.

In the UK - where it has around 460 stores - it benefited from both warm summer weather and disruption at rival M&S, which was hit by a major cyberattack.

International trading was also strong. Total international sales surged 28% in the first half, compared to an 8% uplift domestically.

However, looking to current trading, and Next forecast group sales would slow in the coming months.

It expects sales growth of 4.5% in the second half, putting it on track to grow sales by 7.5% over the whole year.

"In the UK, we believe we exceeded expectations in the second quarter, as a result of better summer weather and trading disruption at a major competitor," Next noted. "We do not expect either of these factors to have a material effect in the second half."

Full-year profit guidance was also left unchanged, at £1.1bn.

In comments accompanying the results, long-standing chief executive Simon Wolfson said: "With the worst of the structural shift from store to online trading behind us, the opportunities for change and growth now present themselves in virtually every area of the business."

But he also flagged "anaemic" economic growth in the UK.

He continued: "Progress [is] constrained by four factors: declining job opportunities, new regulation that erodes competitiveness, government spending commitments that are beyond its means and a rising tax burden that undermines national productivity."

As at 1100 BST, shares in the blue chip were down 5%, at 11,367p, as markets reacted to the more cautious outlook.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Next has a reputation for straight talking, so its stark take on the prospects for the UK economy will carry weight."

But he continued: "It is worth rememberING that the company has got under-promising and over-delivering down to fine art, a key component of being a successful public company.

"While its share price has fallen, Next may not mind a little heat coming out of the stock, given it had been trading close to recent all-time highs. The group is clearly looking to give itself an easier bar to clear in the coming months by leaving full-year guidance unchanged, despite the first-half beat."