NEXT is a UK based retailer offering exciting, beautifully designed, excellent quality

fashion and accessories for men, women and children together with a full range of

homewares# NEXT distributes through three main channels:


■NEXT Retail, a chain of more than 500 stores in the UK and Eire;
■NEXT Directory, a home shopping catalogue and website with around 3 million active customers and international websites serving approximately 50 countries; and
■NEXT International, with almost 200 mainly franchised stores around the world#
Other businesses in the NEXT group include:■NEXT Sourcing, which designs, sources and buys NEXT branded products;
■Lipsy, which designs and sells its own branded younger women's fashion products through retail, internet and wholesale channels; and
The parent company, NEXT plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange #LSE: NXT#L# and is a member of the FTSE 100 Index# Total revenues for the year ended January 2012 were £3#5 billion with underlying pre-tax profits of £570 million# NEXT's head office is located in Enderby on the outskirts of Leicester, England

http://www.next.co.uk/

Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 4,441. Over this period, the share price is up 49.09%.

Trading statement Wed 8 May

In the Mail newspaper today - Simon Wolfson's fashion retailer Next put on 36p to 4425p in anticipation of a bullish first quarter sales report for the 14 weeks to May 4
on Wednesday. Next said at the end of March that brand sales growth was running at the bottom of its 1-4% target range for 2014 given the cold weather. Sales should have improved in recent weeks because of the warmer weather.

Share price forecast




The 20 analysts offering 12 month price targets for NEXT plc have a median target of 4,300, with a high estimate of 5,070 and a low estimate of 3,760. The median estimate represents a -2.82% decrease from the last price of 4,425

Wednesday preview: Next and Sainsbury report
Tue 07 May 2013

Wednesday preview: Next and Sainsbury report LONDON (SHARECAST) - Next is expected to report retail sales growth when it unveils its first quarter results Wednesday, according to Panmure Research.

The broker recommended a ‘buy’ rating, saying the UK retailer’s online offering has put it in a prime position for growth.

"Our ‘buy’ rating is based on our long term view that Next will be a winner in the online race, given its historic and on-going investment in home shopping, which has put it miles ahead of the competition in multichannel retail," the analyst said.

Panmure forecasts first quarter retail sales growth of between 1.5% to 2.0% and directory sales to rise 7.0%.

However, it anticipates flat full-year revenues in retail and an 8.0% jump in directory.

Credit Suisse last month said a slump in homewear sales is likely to drag on the company’s performance.

While Next has started to prioritise its home division in advertising, the analyst believes the market requires a boost to housing transactions and secured credit before realising any material improvement in the category.

"While leading indicators are still positive there hasn’t yet been sufficient signs of a pick up in housing activity in the spring for this to be the driver we originally expected this year," Credit Suisse said.

Interim Management Statement

Sales Performance to 4 May 2013

NEXT Brand sales excluding VAT for the first fourteen weeks of our financial year were up 2.2%, of which 1.5% came from the opening of profitable new space. NEXT Retail sales were down -1.9% whilst NEXT Directory was up +8.9%. Brand sales were therefore a little below the midpoint of the guidance range we gave in March of +1% to +4%.

The chart below sets out the Brand sales variance by week compared with last year, this shows that trading has been volatile and particularly poor through March and early April. The marked upturn in sales in mid-April corresponds to the break in the very cold weather.

Sales variance graph: Click or paste the following link into your web browser to view the PDF document. http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/1802E_-2013-5-7.pdf

It is apparent that the poor March figures were down to an abnormally cold spring, equally the good weeks since mid April have been boosted by pent up demand from the previous month. We believe that neither period is indicative of any significant change in the underlying economy.

The overall number of +2.2% is the best guide for future performance and we remain cautious about the consumer environment. We anticipate that the continuing decline in real earnings will depress discretionary spending for at least the next eighteen months, if not longer.

Guidance for the Full Year to January 2014

We remain confident in our sales guidance range for the full year of +1% to +4% and profit range of £615m to £665m. The table below sets out the guidance we gave in March. Profit and EPS growth estimates are calculated on last year's underlying profit before tax of £622m and basic EPS of 297.7p, which exclude reported post tax exceptional profits of £35m.

Sector leader new highs, bode well for everyone

NEXT shares have soared by more than 50% over the past 12 months, helped by a 119p (2.7%) boost to 4,525p this morning after the high-street fashion chain released a cheery update. For the first 14 weeks of the year, NEXT Brand sales were up 2.2%, with 1.5% of that from new outlets. Although NEXT Retail sales dropped 1.9%, possibly due to very cold March weather, NEXT Directory sales gained a very nice 8.9%.

For the full year, the firm expects to see pre-tax profit of £615-665 million, with a growth in basic EPS of 4-13%. A £250 million share buyback is also expected.

Next made strong gains - despite posting an overall fall in first quarter retail sales - after its home shopping catalogue and website division Directory rose 8.9% during the three month period. Brand sales excluding VAT were up 2.2% of which 1.5% came from the opening of new space.

09 May 07:56 Next PLC Beaufort Securities Upgrades
Next: Deutsche Bank 4600p to 4850p and maintains its buy recommendation

Thu 09 May 2013

Thursday tips round-up: Next, Genus, StanChart LONDON (SHARECAST) - Retailer Next is facing a "new normal," something which its Chief Executive, Lord Wolfson of Aspley Guise, describes as an environment where the shopper is careful with his or her money and retailers can no longer expect an automatic year-on-year rise in like-for-like sales. So much so in fact that analysts believe that a sales rise across the group of 2.2 per cent in the 14 weeks to last weekend masks an underlying fall of about 4.4 per cent. Nevertheless, the company continues to generate more than sufficient cash to continue with its current share buy-back policy. Those buybacks, and the prospect of special dividends, then, provide a strong support, and Next looks like one of the few retailers worth having in the present environment, The Times´s Tempus writes.

Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 4,696.5. Over this period, the share price is up 61.81%.

Nomura has downgraded its rating for High Street giant Next from 'buy' to 'neutral' after the recent strong performance in the share price.

The broker said that while Next's management is "best-in-class", this is increasingly reflected in the stock's valuation. Increasingly returns have meant that the shares have re-rated strongly from January 2011 when they were trading at 8.4 times forward earnings - they now trade at a price-to-earnings multiple of 14.

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Broker snap: Nomura downgrades Next after strong run
Mon 20 May 2013

Broker snap: Nomura downgrades Next after strong run LONDON (SHARECAST) - Nomura has downgraded its rating for High Street giant Next from 'buy' to 'neutral' after the recent strong performance in the share price.

In a research report on Monday morning, the broker said: "In our view, Next remains one of the best allocators of capital and most innovative cost managers in the retail sector. Management has maintained consistent high hurdle rates for new capital, while not assuming growth in its product markets and planning costs and cost innovations accordingly.

"Its product strategy over time has eschewed competition at the commodity end of the apparel market and sought to offer a point of difference to customers, allowing it to retain more of the gains from supply-chain efficiencies for shareholders."

Nomura added that while Next's management is "best-in-class", this is increasingly reflected in the stock's valuation.

Increasingly returns have meant that the shares have re-rated strongly from January 2011 when they were trading at 8.4 times forward earnings - they now trade at a price-to-earnings multiple of 14.

"At this level management has been clear that it is less likely to buy back shares, as the return it can generate for equity shareholders is diminishing (unless its cost of capital falls further or profit forecasts are upgraded, neither of which we see as likely at this juncture)."

Nomura's target price for the stock has been left at 4,450p.

Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 4,715. Over this period, the share price is up 58.12%.

Next: Morgan Stanley downgrades to underweight with a target price of 3920p.

Morgan Stanley: Shop for shares in M&S, not Next
By Jamie Nimmo May 24 2013, 11:55am




Morgan Stanley puts Next’s success down to superior management executionMorgan Stanley puts Next’s success down to superior management execution

Morgan Stanley has decided that high street clothing retailer Next (LON:NXT) has performed so well that it is now time to sell the shares.

The stock is at all-time highs and the broker is sceptical that it can continue the strong run.

It recommends switching to shares in Marks & Spencer (LON:MKS) instead.

“We see no near-term reason why investors should lose confidence in Next’s ability to out-execute peers, so it is possible the shares could rerate further,” said Geoff Ruddell, the broker’s retail analyst.

“However the multiples are already close to 10-year highs, both absolute and relative, so we think the risk reward looks unattractive at these levels.”

He puts Next’s success down to superior management execution and says that while the retailer was lucky to have an established mail order business in place when internet shopping took off, it has no significant advantage over its rivals.

Ruddell went on to question whether Next could be the next H&M – a clothing chain that has suffered despite being fronted by global icon David Beckham.

“Investors need only look at H&M’s recent history for proof that great execution is not a sustainable competitive advantage and that margin expansion can go too far,” the analyst warned.

Next shares fell 2.2% to £45.88 each.

26 June -

NEXT (Other OTC: NXGPF - news)

The same day is final ex-dividend day for high street clothing chain NEXT . After reporting a 3.1% rise in revenue for the year to January 2013, a 9% rise in underlying pre-tax profit, and a 16.6% boost to underlying earnings per share, Next declared a final dividend of 74p per share.

That takes the full-year payment to 105p per share, up 16.7p, and follows Next's policy of lifting its dividend in line with earnings per share. With the share price currently on 4,597p, the total payment represents a yield of 2.3%.


http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/3-ftse-100-shares-going-124500680.html

NEXT (Other OTC: NXGPF - news)

NEXT continues to knock spots off its high-street competition. The market's regard for the company is manifested in its share price. So far this year, shares in NEXT are up 23%. In the last month, as the market has corrected, NEXT has outperformed the index by 6%.

A trading statement issued in May has helped underpin confidence further. Although the cold weather knocked shop sales down 2%, online and Directory sales were 9% ahead on last year.

The company is forecast to grow EPS and dividends this year and next. That puts the shares on a prospective P/E for this year of 14.4, with a 2.5% dividend. That's a small premium to pay for such a clear winner.

Goldman Sachs retains neutral on Next, target raised from 4200p to 4700p. - See more at: http://www.stockmarketwire.com