British multinational fashion retailer Next Plc has reported a rise of 5.9 per cent in net sales in fiscal 2024 (FY24), with figures climbing from £5.516 billion in January 2023 to £5.842 billion (approximately $7.46 billion) in January 2024. This growth is reflected in the Next Group's profit before tax, which, even when excluding brand amortisation, stood at £918 million, marking a 5 per cent increase from the previous year's £875 million.

Despite the broader economic challenges, Next Plc's statutory profit before tax remarkably soared by 16.9 per cent, reaching £1.016 billion up from £869 million in January 2023. The statutory revenue similarly experienced significant growth, reporting a 9.1 per cent increase with figures jumping from £5.034 billion to £5.491 billion, the company said in a press release.

However, the profit after tax experienced a slight decline of 2 per cent, settling at £702 million in comparison to £716 million the prior year. Nonetheless, the earnings per share post-tax inched up by 0.3 per cent.

Online sales climbed by 5 per cent, from £3.007 billion in January 2023 to £3.160 billion in January 2024. This digital growth contrasts with the stagnation in retail sales, which remained flat with no percentage change from the £1.865 billion reported in the previous year.

“In the context of the wider economic environment, the year to January 2024 was a very good year for Next and the business materially outperformed our initial expectations. Cash flow remained strong and we returned £425 million to shareholders through a combination of dividends (£248 million) and share buybacks (£177 million),” said Michael Roney, chairman of Next.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)

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