By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Next (LON:NXT) earned more than it expected last year after a surprisingly strong end to the year, but said it remained "cautious" about the next 12 months, given the ongoing recession in the U.K.
The U.K. fashion retailer said on Thursday that it now expects profit before tax to be £860 million (£1 = $1.2027) in the year ending January 31st, some £20M higher than its previous guidance, after a holiday season in which sales were up 4.8% from a year earlier. It now expects earnings per share of 567 pence, a gain of 6.9%.
Even so, Next said it expects profit to fall over 7% to £795M in the following 12 months, with a 1.5% drop in full-price sales. It warned that inflation and higher housing costs are likely to eat into customers' disposable income, while it will also face continued pressure on margins from higher input costs itself.