Retailer Next reports sales dip

Clothing retailer, Next, said its trading prospects would be tough next year. It has reported another dip in quarterly sales, forcing the company to rely on further cost-savings to maintain its full-year profit forecast.

Next shares rose 3.6%, but are 31% lower then at the start of the year. Shares in rival, Marks & Spencer, which updates on trading next Tuesday, rose by up to 2.5%.

Next chief executive, Simon Wolfson, said Britain’s consumer climate was likely to remain difficult, as inflation rises and real earnings are squeezed.