Next pre-tax profits up 18%
Fashion chain Next has today announced its pre-tax profits for the 2009 year rose 18% to £505.3 million.
The retailer said annual revenues rose to £3,406 million, from £3,271.5 million the previous year.
Chairman of the fashion chain, John Barton, described 2009 as “an extraordinary year” and added it had seen a “marked improvement” in its ranges as the company became much faster in adopting new trends.
However, Mr Barton admitted 2010 had begun challengingly. He said: “At the beginning of the year we faced an unstable economy, falling sales and sterling weakness against both the US dollar and the euro, our main purchasing currencies”.
Meanwhile, in a statement, the company said: “A worse scenario for the consumer would be a rise in taxation.
“Direct taxes will reduce consumer spending, indirect taxes are likely to be inflationary. So the outlook for the economy (and therefore for retail sales) remains dependent on policy decisions and their timing and, as yet, we have little certainty as to either.”
The results come on the same day the Office for National Statistics revealed a 1.9% rise in UK retail sales in February compared with January.
Retail sales in January saw a significant fall due to the severe wintry weather which hit most parts of the country during the month.
Sarah Hewin, senior economist at Standard Chartered, added caution and told the BBC that “overall spending is still relatively weak.”
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