Next has raised its profit forecasts as it cashes in on the cyber attack at rival Marks & Spencer.
Defying gloom on the High Street, the fashion retailer announced its third upgrade in five months after sales came in £49million higher than anticipated.
UK sales in the past 13 weeks were 7.8 per cent higher than a year earlier, which it put down to the weather and M&S’s woes.
A cyber attack crippled its rival’s website orders and caused disruption in shops.
This sent shoppers in the direction of competitors, including Next, which sells many of the same third-party brands online. M&S expects a £300million dent to profits this year.
By contrast, Next expects £25million in extra profits, meaning that they will pass £1.1billion for the year.
Extra profits: Next, led since 2001 by Lord Wolfson (pictured), announced its third upgrade in five months after sales came in £49m higher than anticipated
Next became just the fourth UK retailer to score £1billion in annual profits last year, joining Tesco, M&S and B&Q owner Kingfisher in a select club.
The update came a day after Next said it has saved Seraphine, the maternity brand favoured by the Princess of Wales, by buying it for £600,000.
The firm, whose dresses and other clothes were worn by Kate during her pregnancies, crashed into administration last month with the loss of 95 jobs.
Next has a record for scooping up brands of collapsed retailers, such as FatFace and Joules.
Lord Wolfson, whose insights into the UK’s economic health are closely watched, has steered it since 2001.
In that time sales have soared, as many have struggled. Yesterday, Pets at Home slashed its annual profit forecast, citing ‘subdued’ demand, and this week bakery chain Greggs said heatwaves in June dragged profits down.
But Next ‘remains cautious for the second half’ and is not upgrading sales expectations as it will not benefit from disruption at M&S or good weather, while a weak job market will hit sales.
It said: ‘We expect employment opportunities to continue to diminish as we enter the second half, with the effects of April’s National Insurance changes continuing to filter through into the economy. We believe this will increasingly dampen consumer spending.’
The worry comes as figures published today show sales in shops grew just 0.8pc this month compared to July 2024.
As this was significantly below inflation, it means volumes have plunged for a seventh month in a row, figures from accountants BDO show.
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