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Investing.com -- Next PLC (LON:NXT) raised its full-year outlook after outperforming expectations in the first eight weeks of the fiscal year. The company’s shares jumped more than 7% in London at 08:12 GMT.
The British fashion retailer, often viewed as a key bellwether for the U.K. retail sector, reported an 8.2% rise in total sales to £6.32 billion for the fiscal 2025, with full-price sales climbing 5.8%, exceeding the initial estimate of a 5.5% increase.
Profit before tax (PBT) rose 10% to £1.01 billion, aligning with guidance that was raised in January.
Next also announced an increase in its final dividend to 158 pence per share, up from 141 pence, bringing the full-year payout to 233 pence.
Looking ahead, the company now expects full-price sales to increase by 5% in fiscal 2026, up from its previous projection of 3.5%.
Group sales are forecast to reach £6.6 billion ($8.51 billion), slightly above the earlier estimate of £6.5 billion.
PBT expectations for the year ending in January have also been revised upward to £1.07 billion from £1.05 billion.
Next said that upcoming U.S. tariffs and the elimination of the de minimis provision, which exempts certain goods from duties, are unlikely to significantly affect sales or profits.
“We believe NXT’s strong share price outperformance of UK peers looks well justified by today’s upgrade of FY guidance despite a broader consumer context which has proven very volatile since that view was set in early January,” Jefferies analysts said.
“We continue to see plenty of valuation attractions in the group’s total addressable market (TAM) expansion, industry-leading returns profile and unrivalled track record of delivery,” they added.