Proactive Investors - FTSE 100-listed fashion chain Next plc (LON:NXT) delivered a bumper set of interim results supercharged by outstanding international sales.
Across all segments, full-price product sales surged by 4.4% year on year. Next had initially guided to a 2.5% increase.
Next put the favourable result down to international sales eclipsing expectations.
Full-price UK sales did beat expectations (up 0.4% compared to down 0.3% projected), but it was the 21.9% surge in international online sales that really impressed.
Total group sales, including markdowns, subsidiaries and investments, were up 8% in the first half. This includes revenues from the recently acquired FatFace and an increased stake in Reiss.
Next is maintaining a full-price sales growth guidance target of 2.5% for the second quarter.
While surprisingly conservative given the robust first-half growth, Next pointed out that “when compared to two years ago, growth in the first half and the forecast for the second half are almost identical”.
Next shares rallied 7.5% when markets opened on Thursday.