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

NEXT shares are up more than 40% over the past 12 months, hitting a new 52-week high today of 5,070p, before falling back to 5,040p just after lunch. If you've held NEXT shares for the long term, you'll be sitting on a near six-bagger since late 2008, which is pretty good going in these days when the high street is supposed to be dead.

And even after that, the shares are on a forward P/E based on January 2014 forecasts of 15.5, dropping to 14 for the following year, which is by no means outrageously high.



http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/3-ftse-shares-hitting-highs-132932361.html

On Thursday, Next PLC (NXT:LSE) closed at 5,075, 0.10% below its 52-week high of 5,080, set on Jul 30, 2013

NEXT, Thursday 12 September

It's first-half results day the same day for high street fashion retailer NEXT , and July's update suggested things are going to be pretty reasonable. Total NEXT brand sales were up 2.3%, which was around the mid-point of the expected range. We were, however, warned of sales volatility and increasingly erratic spending patterns.

NEXT lifted its guidance for the full year, suggesting a pre-tax profit of £635-675m, which us up from earlier guidance of £615-665m. Underlying EPS is expected to grow by 8-15%, with the current analysts' consensus suggesting 12%.

NEXT shares have gained a very nice 40% over the past 12 months, to 5,040p, but even after that they're only on a forward P/E of around 16, which is not high for a company with good growth forecasts. But the dividend is a little on the low side, expected to yield about 2.5%.



http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/3-more-ftse-shares-week-150400000.html

Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 5,175. Over this period, the share price is up 44.94%.

shall prob sell before the results and quite possibly buy back afterwards

Quite sensible as there most probably be some profit taking with any initial rise on the
results.

Small rise today, closed at 51.90. ASOS 51.97

i got out this morning with a decent profit .... more risk than reward likely though may be proved wrong with dow finishing so strongly

RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR TO JULY 2013

Financial highlights are as follows:

● Sales up 2.2% at £1,677m

● Operating profit of £285m, up 7.2%

● Profit after tax of £217m, up 13.8%

● Net cash inflow of £129m before £170m of share buybacks

● Earnings per share of 142p, up 19.9%

● Interim dividend of 36p, up 16.1%

market seems to like those numbers a lot ..... i "knew" they would be good, but got out as sp had already risen quite a bit - never mind; a decent profit is most definitely that

and now back in at +/- the same price as i sold .... still much prefer the quality of this company that the dreaded ASC

lol..about much of the love of somehow understanding price movement than underlying business rather.

Closed up 15p At least a hold

12 Sep Credit Suisse 4,650.00 Neutral

Next admits stock blunder amid summer heatwave but still reports sales of £1.68bn

By Matt West

PUBLISHED: 12:40, 12 September 2013 | UPDATED: 14:07, 12 September 2013


Retailer Next admitted a stock blunder meant it was caught out by the recent summer heatwave, leaving it short of warm weather clothes in August.

It added trading conditions were volatile, with customers only buying new clothes when they needed them.


The unexpectedly warm August ‘worked against some of our clothing ranges’ the retailer said, admitting it failed to stock enough warm weather ‘transitional stock’ - to sell after its July sale and ahead of the launch of its Autumn range.


Summer surprise: Next admitted it had insufficient stock during August as the better than expected weather caught it by surprise

The retailer admitted the blunder as it reported 2.2 per cent revenues growth to £1.68billion in the six months to the end of July, helped by continuing expansion through new store openings and online sales.


The retailer's online directory business drove pre-tax profits 8.2 per cent higher to £271.8million.

Shares in the retailer were 12.5p, or 0.24 per cent higher, at 5,202.5p by midday following the results announcement.


Next did not quantify the impact of the stock blunder on its bottom line but said it would take greater risks on buying fabrics and purchase key materials in greater quantities earlier in the year.

Anusha Couttigane, fashion consultant at Conlumino, said Next was let down by ‘flaws in its forward planning’.


‘This is a planning error which mature high street players should not fall victim to,’ she said.




While trading conditions looked set to improve gradually on looser credit to households and businesses, ‘talk of a full-blown recovery is premature,’ Next said.


The clothing giant defied the tough retail climate by laying out plans for a major land grab over the next five years, by opening another 1.4 million square feet of new space.


It currently trades from 541 stores in the UK and Ireland - equivalent to 6.7million square feet of space - after adding 145,000 square foot of space during the half.


The chain is taking advantage of the tough retail climate to secure cheaper, shorter leases at good locations, helping it replace tired older stores with new outlets.


The retailer said: ‘The addition of new retail space sounds counter-intuitive in an environment of declining like-for-like sales and growth in internet sales. However, we believe that investment makes sense.’

Next said new stores earn net profit margins of 22 per cent, and pay back the capital investment in 19 months. Without new space, its store profits would have fallen through the downturn, it added.
About 90 per cent of its stores earn profit margins of 15 per cent and above.

The retailer has planning permission for 11 large stores typically incorporating fashion, home and garden products, and another 18 are in the pipeline.

Next said there has been a ‘sea change’ in many local councils' attitudes to retail development, with a ‘much better understanding of the economic advantages and employment it can bring to an area’.

It said new stores are widely used by its online customers, with more than a third of internet purchases collected from stores.

Takings in its stores fell 0.9 per cent during the half to about £1billion, although that included the snow-hit start of the year when they fell 1.9 per cent. Store profits grew 1.3 per cent to £124.3million.

Sales at its Next Directory business, which includes online orders, grew 8.3 per cent to £597.6million, while profits were 13.4 per cent higher to £156.1million.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-2418572/Next-admits-stock-blunder-amid-summer-heatwave-reports-sales-1-68bn.html#ixzz2ehjWWU5i
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

13 Sep Citigroup 5,850.00 Buy
13 Sep Numis 5,250.00 Hold
13 Sep Beaufort... N/A Buy
13 Sep Deutsche Bank 5,600.00 Hold
13 Sep Morgan Stanley 3,920.00 Underweight

and I would say, since sp overtaken by my pesky asc , nxt shares are gone..:))

Go back to the ASOS site. lol

lol

NEXT (LON:NXT)

NEXT announced results for the half year ended July 2013 yesterday. Sales increased 2.2% to £1.67bn as growth in online sales and addition of new retail space helped offset a drop in like-for-like sales. NEXT retail sales dipped 0.9% to £1bn, whereas the online NEXT Directory sales climbed 8.3% to £597.6m, boosting after tax profits by £26.3m. Operating profits rose 7.2% to £284.9m. New space added 2.7% to retail sales. Pre-tax profit was up 8.2% to £271.8m. Profit at the retail arm edged up 1.3% to £124.3m. Earnings per share (EPS) increased 19.9% to 142p, aided by share buybacks worth £170m. The company aims to return up to £250m and £350m through share buyback during the year. NEXT added 145,000 square feet of trading space during the period and plans to add around 300,000 square feet of retail trading space for the year. The company continued to acquire further retail space as the new space delivered high net margins and terms of acquisition were favourable. The number of active customers surged 12.1%, with a higher proportional increase of cash customers. The company cites strong employment, growth in housing market, and ending of credit squeeze for the customers as the main macro-economic drivers for the performance in next six months. However, a fall in the real consumer earnings could pose a challenge. Brand sales target for full year were maintained at 1.5-3.5%. The interim dividend per share climbed 16.1% to 36p.

Our view: NEXT exhibited a steady performance for the half year, largely due to upbeat online NEXT Directory sales. Newly added retail space seems to have worked wonders for the company, displaying 22% net margins. The company plans to continue with its strategy in this direction, with addition of further new space to the company’s retail portfolio. The share buyback plan of the company is also progressing well, with the potential to cause significant value addition for the shareholders, going forward. The macro-economic factors, crucial for the future performance of the company, seem to be progressing in the desired direction, barring the trend of real earnings of the customers. In such a scenario, an over 12% rise in active customers deserves a special mention. Given the company’s strong online offering – Directory, the diversification into home-wares and new overseas markets and plans for addition of more stores to its current portfolio, we believe there is a scope for further upside in the share price. We reiterate our Buy rating for the stock.




http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/columns/beaufort-securities/14100/beaufort-securities-breakfast-today-including-noricum-gold-next-plc-auhua-clean-energy-and-home-retail-group-14100.html