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 is one of the few high-street retailers that is thriving today.

However, go back just a few years and Next shares were suffering badly. In the second half of 2008, the shares fell as low as 838p.

The growth being enjoyed by online fashion retailers, most notably ASOS (Other OTC: ASOMF.PK - news) , left investors speculating whether Next had been left behind. These sentiments drove Next shares down to less than six times the previous year's earnings.

Since the bear market ended, Next has been proving itself to investors with increased earnings and dividends. A payout of 101p is expected for 2013 (Next has a Janary year-end) -- nearly double the dividend for 2008 and 2009. Earnings per share is expected to hit 274.3p, a 9.3% advance on 2012 and 73% higher than the 2009 result. Next Directory (which includes online) sales are now 40% higher than they were five years ago. It appears that Next has got online licked.

Although Next reported a slight dip in eps for 2009, the dividend was never cut throughout the worst of the crisis.

Next plc - RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR TO JULY 2012

NEXT has made a better than expected start to the year, with Group revenue up 4.8% and profit 10.2% ahead of last year. We returned a further £112m to shareholders through share buybacks which, together with lower tax rates, boosted the increase in earnings per share to 18.7%. We are increasing the interim dividend by 12.7% to 31p per share.



Financial highlights are as follows:

•
Revenue up 4.8% to £1,640m

•
Profit up 10.2% to £251m

•
Net cash inflow of £168m before dividends and £112m of share buybacks

•
Earnings per share up 18.7% to 118.5p

•
Interim dividend up 12.7% to 31p per


http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4444142

definitely one against the head given the awful time so many retailers have had over the last several months due to the vile weather earlier followed by the olympics ...... it was almost eery how quiet central london was during that time

Together with the John Lewis results, there may be some upside in the sector today.

now the caveat as picked up from reuters!

half year revenue rose 4.8 percent to 1.64 billion stg * Auto alert - Next Plc interim dividend 31 pence per share * Profit up 10.2% to £251M * Earnings per share up 18.7% to 118.5P * August and early September sales have been disappointing during what has been an unusually quiet period * We remain cautious about the economic outlook* Maintaining full year guidance that sales, profits and earnings per share will all move forward on last year

Not just by reuters it would seem, open down 3.5%.

1

Sinking fast

I've had a small spread bet @3343 stop @3300. Tin hat on.

Looks like those couple of lines in black type sent out shock waves

cyners (sinners?) deramping post strikes terror yet again!

Just pleased Im at home this morning. No not deramping hard facts. You were right.

was only jewish self-deprecating, gallows humour

Lol, It was should I stay or should I go. If trading does not improve, more South to come.

That line of black type has put doubt in investors minds

Seymour Pierce has reiterated its 'hold' rating for High Street giant Next despite a decent first half, as the company's guidance going into the second half of the year disappointed.

Seymour analyst Kate Calvert said: "On outlook management has stated that ‘if the economy had a weather forecast the outlook would be overcast – patchy rain for the foreseeable’ and in terms of its strategy, it reads a bit like a political manifesto, but it is more of the same as we expect from Next.

"It is a highly cash generative, tightly run company and looks to continue to execute on the basics of giving the consumer great product and capitalising on its leading multi-channel position. The shares are trading virtually at an all time high so we would expect profit taking today."

Sometimes the market changes its mind about a company. When this happens, the price change can be huge.

If the market dismisses a company's prospects unfairly then an opportunity is created for investors that have done their research. A good example of this is Next . Two years ago, the company's share price suggested that its growth was past. Next continued to grow sales and profits. Market perceptions turned; the shares are up 82% in 18 months.

Next's large return on equity figure is a result of the company's very close match between assets and liabilities.

Despite troubles on the high street, shares in Next are up over 60% in the last two years.

Next has successfully diversified into online sales. At the time of the last half-year results, Next Directory (which includes online) reported a 13.3% rise in sales. By comparison, Next's bricks-and-mortar operations managed only a 0.2% increase.

Next has only failed to increase its dividend once since 1998. Analyst consensus is for another two years of double-digit dividend growth at the company. This puts Next on a 2014 yield of 3.1%.

As for profits, these are expected to continue increasing but at a slightly lower rate. Consensus is for a 9.9% rise in earnings per share (eps) in 2013, followed by 9.8% of growth in 2014.

Next (Berlin: NXG.BE - news) : Investec keeps hold rating and 3,680p target

31 Oct 2012Q3 interim management statement

With the UK economy now out of recession, it will be interesting to hear if the chief executive of Next , Lord Wolfson, maintains his notoriously downbeat outlook this week. Next is due to update on trading in the third quarter and analysts are keen to hear how the retailer fared in September after Lord Wolfson said trading had initially been “unusually quiet”. Analysts at Espirito Santo are forecasting flat like-for-like sales and online sales to grow 13pc for the 13 weeks to October 27.

Fashion chain Next should have seen third quarter trading and margins boosted by the colder autumnal weather, Peel Hunt reckons.

"We expect third quarter sales to have recovered well over the past seven weeks and expect to see year-to-date Brand sales back at the top end of guidance, up more than 4%, implying third quarter sales growth of 3.8%. We expect management to endorse current guidance and market expectations, although consensus is likely to drift upwards," the broker said.