Enderby retailer Next has seen a better first quarter than anticipated, with full price sales up 11.4% versus last year in the thirteen weeks to 26 April.
This was £55m ahead of the business’s forecast for the period, which was to be up 6.5%.
Next attributed much of the over-performance to warmer weather, which has benefited the sale of summer-weight clothing. The firm added: “It is likely that some of these sales have been pulled forward from Q2. So, despite the strength of Q1, we are not increasing our sales guidance for Q2, or the rest of the year.”
The company has, however, increased its profit guidance, accounting for the £55m of additional sales in Q1, with profit before tax expectations for the full year bumped up by £14m to £1.08bn.
Next’s performance in both the UK and overseas was better than anticipated, as was sales in retail shops.
