Profits at Next rise 7% to €208m but retailer says full year results will be flat

BRITISH fashion retailer Next has posted a 7% year-on-year increase in first half profits to £185.5 million (€208.3m), but has warned that financial performance for its full year will be largely flat.

As well as the pre-tax profit figure — which was at the high end of market expectations — the half year figures showed a 0.7% rise in revenue to £1.51 billion and a similar increase in operating profit to £199.5m.

After-tax profit was up by 6.9% at £131.7m and basic earnings per share rose by 7.6% to 68.2p.