Next profits at top end

24th Mar 2011 06:59

Next today paraded a 9% rise in full-year profit to a new record, exactly what the City was expecting following guidance from the fashion retailer in January.Profit before tax increased to £551.4m in the 12 months to January, up from £505.3m a year ago, led by catalogue arm Next Directory where profits jumped 21% from £183.6m to £221.9m this time. Sales there climbed 7%, or 10.5% on a comparable 52-week basis, to £935.5m. It now accounts for 27% of group sales and 40% of profits. Total revenue was up 1% to £3.45bn, a smidgen below consensus forecasts, as Next Retail fell 2.3%, or 1% adjusted for a 52-week year. Like for like sales there fell 4%, as predicted by analysts. But bosses warn of another "challenging" year, believing "things are likely to get worse before they get better" as inflation, public sector cuts and limited growth in consumer credit hit the sector."Retailers cannot plan for never-ending growth in like for like sales that many have enjoyed over the last fifteen years," they said today. "New avenues of growth, innovative ways to control costs and careful management of the healthy cash flows that retailers tend to generate will become increasingly important."An increase in the final dividend to 53p, takes the total payout for the year to 78p, up 18%.