LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Retail giant Next boosted its sales outlook on Thursday following a strong start to the year, but warned that consumer confidence was set to deteriorate as the year progressed.
The fashion and home retailer said full-price sales in the first eight weeks of the year had been ahead of expectations.

As a result, it has hiked its first-half forecast to 6.5%, having previously guided for sales growth of 3.5%.

However, the retailer - which is known for its cautious outlook - did not upgrade its second-half guidance. Instead it was kept at 3.5%, with Next citing strong comparatives and potentially weakening conditions.

"We expect the UK tax rises in April to weaken the UK employment market and negatively impact consumer confidence as the year progresses," it noted.

"The estimate for the second half might seem pessimistic, given the strong start to the year, but when compared to two years ago this forecast looks more realistic."

Next now expects full-year sales to rise 5%, up from an earlier forecast for 3.5%.

The update came as Next posted strong results for the year to January 2025. Full-price sales rose 5.8% while group sales including subsidiaries jumped 8.2% to £6.32bn.

Within that, retail sales eased 1% to £1.85bn, but UK online sales sparked 5% to £2.54bn.

Pre-tax group profits jumped 10.1% to £1.01bn.

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