Next expects profits to exceed £1.1bn after bumper Christmas

Next expects its annual profits to top £1.1bn after much stronger sales than anticipated over Christmas - but it has warned that 2026 will be tougher.

- Sarah Butler

The clothing and homewares retailer said it was lifting annual profit forecasts by £15m, its fourth upgrade in eight months.

UK sales rose by 5.9% in the nine weeks to 27 December, far stronger than the 4.1% expected.

The FTSE 100 company said sales were helped by higher stock levels than the previous year, when deliveries were delayed by supply disruptions in Bangladesh.

The company, which owns the UK rights to the US brands Gap and Victoria’s Secret as well as stakes in a plethora of labels including Reiss and Joules, said it also had a better than expected end of year sale, with £30m more than predicted going through the tills.

Sales for the year to the end of January are expected to rise 10.7% to £5.6bn and pretax profits to be up 13.7% to £1.15bn. Next had previously said profits were likely to increase by 12.2% and sales by 9.7%.