Proactive Investors - Next PLC (LON:NXT)’s profits hit a record £918 million in 2023, up 5% from the previous year, with earnings per share (EPS) slightly rising by 0.3% to 578.8p.
Total sales for the clothing retailer increased by 5.9% to £5.8 billion.
Cash flow remained strong, with £425 million returned to shareholders through dividends (£248 million) and share buybacks (£177 million).
It was an expectedly stellar set of results for Next, following a string of sales and profit upgrades scattered throughout the past 12 months.
Next was on a buying spree of its own in 2023, having increased its equity stake in Reiss by 21% to 72%, acquiring a 97% equity stake in FatFace, and buying 100% of the intellectual property in Cath Kidston.
The group also emerged as a potential bidder for distressed beauty chain The Body Shop in February, though there was no mention of the bid in today’s report.
"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," said chief executive Lord Wolfson.
Next expects another good year ahead, with projected group sales growth of 6% and group profit guidance set at £960 million, up +4.6%.
Forecasted post-tax EPS for the upcoming year is 606.3p, up +4.8%.