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/

11 Jul Deutsche Bank 6,700.00 Hold

Trading statement Tues 29 July

Sharecast - Tuesday preview: Next to report earnings

Mon, 28 July 2014


Next may on Tuesday report second quarter sales growth towards the upper end of guidance, according to estimates by Numis.

The UK retailer reported a 10.8% increase in Brand sales in the first 13 weeks of the year, with retail up 8.8% and Directory up 13.7%.

"This was comfortably ahead of the +4% to +8% Brand sales guidance provided at the preliminary stage and, notwithstanding the tougher second quarter comparatives, the company raised its full year sales guidance to +5.5% to +9.5%," Numis said.

"The first quarter performance benefitted from much better weather and second quarter comps are also slightly tougher."

Trading Statement



http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4857549

Next ups guidance again as online sales surge

By Philip Whiterow

July 29 2014, 8:40am
Retail sales in the three months to 26 July rose by 6.4%, while catalogue and online sales were 18.8% better.
Retail sales in the three months to 26 July rose by 6.4%, while catalogue and online sales were 18.8% better.


High street clothing powerhouse Next (LON:NXT) raised its estimates for a second time this year as first half sales rose by more than 10%.

The group now expects annual sales to grow in a range of between 7-10%, from 5.5-9% previously, while profits will be in a range of £815mln to £775mln, compared to £790m to £750mln, or a 17% rise at the top end.

Next said it was not being overly cautious in predicting full year sales range below the current rate of growth, but was allowing for the bitterly cold weather last year that made a soft comparison this time.

Retail sales in the three months to 26 July rose by 6.4%, while catalogue and online sales were 18.8% better. Overall, sales rose by 10.7% out of which new space added 2.4%.

The group paid has paid a combined total of £328mln in special dividends and share buybacks so far this year and said it does expect to pay any further special dividends in the current year.

30 Jul Numis 6,750.00 Hold
30 Jul Citigroup 7,600.00 Buy
30 Jul Deutsche Bank 6,700.00 Hold
30 Jul Jefferies... 8,000.00 Buy
29 Jul Investec 7,000.00 Hold
29 Jul Cantor... 7,400.00 Buy

Next: Berenberg raises target price from 7740p to 8075p maintaining a buy recommendation.

11 Aug Barclays... 6,700.00 Equal weight

12 Aug Exane BNP... 6,200.00 Neutral

Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 6,915. Over this period, the share price is up 43.96%

Broken £70 -


Next PLC (NXT:LSE) set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached 7,060. Over this period, the share price is up 46.36%.

2 Sep Deutsche Bank 6,700.00 Hold

3 Sep Jefferies... 8,000.00 Buy

Interim results due Thurs 11 Sept

Web sales and discounts boost High Street giants Next and Primark

By Alex Hawkes, Financial Mail on Sunday

Published: 22:03, 6 September 2014 | Updated: 22:03, 6 September 2014

Next big thing: Online sales lifted the retailer


High Street giants Next and Primark will this week highlight the shift online and to discount outlets, posting surging profits and sales.


On Wednesday, Next is set to reveal profits of £330 million in the six months to the end of July, compared to £272 million for the same period last year.


The retailer’s growth is being driven by its Next Directory online sales platform. It said in July that its Directory sales rose more than 16 per cent for the first half of the year.

Tomorrow, Primark is set to announce that sales grew 11 per cent in the three months to September in a trading statement from its parent Associated British Foods.


City analysts said the trend towards online retail and discounting would continue.


‘We expect e-retailing to grow 5.9 per cent a year on average in the next five years, against 1.8 per cent-a-year growth for traditional clothing retailers,’ said analysts at Barclays.


‘As rising interest rates put pressure on disposable incomes we expect to see a further shift to retailers with a higher quality-to-price offer.’ Next will be a beneficiary of the shift online, the bank said. Some of its online sales might come at the expense of its stores, but Next has invested significant sums in refitting its high street outlets, limiting the impact, Barclays said.


Primark is meanwhile facing competition from Lidl, which revealed plans last month to launch a fashion range in its UK supermarkets.

Thursday's agenda:

Things should be a bit cheerier at fashion chain, Next, which upped full-year guidance in its most recent trading update; it now expects sales to be between 7% and 10% higher year-on-year in 2014.

As the year wears on, the retailer goes up against increasingly tougher comparatives from a year ago, so maintaining its second quarter performance of a 10.7% increase in sales would count as a top result.




http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/market_reports/72099/thursdays-agenda-morrisons-looking-for-light-at-end-of-the-tunnel-0000.html

NEXT - Results for the Half Year Ending July 2014

OVERVIEW

NEXT has had a good first half, achieving sales and profits ahead of our original expectations. Total sales were 10.3% ahead of last year. Retail stores and NEXT Directory (our online business) both delivered significant growth. Profit before tax rose by 19.3%





http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4883629

Stellar” Next widens lead over M&S as half-year sales increase 10%

By Nick Huber

September 11 2014, 11:18am
Next’s stores increased sales by 7.5% and Next Directory, the company’s online business, by 16%.
Next’s stores increased sales by 7.5% and Next Directory, the company’s online business, by 16%.


British clothing retailer, Next (LON:NXT) has announced strong half-year results, increasing sales by 10.3%.

Next, whose profits overtook rival Marks & Spencer for the first time earlier this year, said sales for the six months to July 2014 were £1.84bln, compared to £1.67bln in the same period a year earlier. Pre-tax profit increased 19% to £324.2mln.

Next’s stores increased sales by 7.5% and Next Directory, the company’s online business, by 16%; although its operating margin declined.

The company left unchanged its profit forecast for 2014 of between £775mln an £815mln given in its July trading update.

Investec, a stockbroker, said Next had a “stellar” first half but the numbers were a little short of the average forecast. It kept its “hold” recommendation on the company.

Next said its sales growth in the last six months had been the strongest for many years.

“We have made good progress improving and extending our ranges, opening profitable new space, improving our service and growing our online business - both in the UK and overseas.”

But the company was cautious about its prospects for the next year.

“We remain mindful that some of these factors are likely to be less favourable next year and this year's fine summer weather could present tough comparatives next year, when interest rates are also expected to rise.”

Next shares were about 2% lower at 7,040p.

11 Sep Credit Suisse 6,800.00 Neutral
11 Sep Investec 7,000.00 Hold
11 Sep Cantor... 7,400.00 Buy

Questor share tip: Sell Next after stellar run

The sales performance at Next is impressive but Questor is worried about the credit accounts it has been built on



Shoppers walk past a Next clothes shop in central London. Next to sell clothes in US

Sears described Next as 'a superstar name in home-shopping' Photo: Jane Minga



By John Ficenec, Questor Editor

6:00AM BST 12 Sep 2014







Next
£69.50-215p
Questor says SELL


RETAILER Next [LON:NXT] reported strong sales growth in the first half of the year, but its shares fell sharply as investors worried that the record run might be over. Questor thinks it is a good time to take stock of the company’s gains.





The FTSE 100 retailers shares fell 3pc yesterday as the profit performance in the first six months of 2014 fell short of expectations. Britain’s second-largest retailer warned that the supportive environment of an improving economy, low interest rates and availability of credit might not continue into next year.


A rise in interest rates could damage Next Directory sales, which are a key area of growth for the retailer. More than two thirds of its 3.94m customers have a UK credit account, using the company’s offer of unsecured credit to buy products via the Next Directory Card.

These customers are liable for a “service charge” if they do not repay the outstanding balance on their card by the due date.

Next charges have an annual percentage rate (APR) of 25.99pc, compared with the APR for a standard bank credit card of between 18pc and 20pc.

The size of the service charge is revealed in the small print of the company’s annual report. In 2014, this was £151.8m, up from £140.4m the previous year. That income could struggle in a higher interest rate environment.

That said, Next’s shares have been on a staggering run during the past five years. The shares fell to about £10 in early 2009 after the financial crisis, and have since surged by seven times to more than £70 before yesterday’s trading update.

Earlier this year, Next overtook rival M&S to become the most profitable clothing retailer on the high street. Next has quietly gone about providing the UK with good quality, moderately priced clothing in its shops and online.

A large part of the success is down to the leadership of chief executive Lord Wolfson. He ensured the retailer embraced online retailing early and was also quick to adopt click-and-collect. The company has also retained its catalogue business, Next Directory, which provides dual advertising and sales.

In the latest results, directory sales were up 16pc to £694.3m and retail sales up 7.5pc to £1.07bn for the six months ended July. The group’s total revenues increased 10.3pc to £1.85bn, and pre-tax profits were up 19.3pc to £324.2m in the first half. Analysts were hoping for income of about £330m.

The retailer also generates plenty of cash, with cash flow from operations increasing to £300m in the first six months, up 27pc on the same period last year.

Next likes returning spare cash to investors and paid three special dividends of 50p each in February, May and August this year. This comes on top of the forecast 150p in annual ordinary dividends. The company will comment on next year’s cash returns in its interim trading update at the end of October.

The market is expecting the returns of cash to increase from about 300p this year to 380p next year, giving the shares a pretty decent 4.1pc prospective yield, rising to 5.2pc next year. Analysts are forecasting full-year pre-tax profits rising to £800m, on revenue up £4.05bn, giving 408p in earnings per share for the year ended January 2015.

The shares are currently trading on 17.5 times forecast earnings, falling to 16.2 times next year. Next is a great British retailing success story, but Questor is concerned that the engine room of those sales, the Next Directory business, includes a lot of credit support.

It has been a fantastic run in the shares, but Questor thinks now is as good a time as any to take profits. Sell.