Overview

• Underlying pre-tax profit rose 13.8% to £515 million on roughly 11% growth in full-price sales for the six months to July.
• Next forecasts a sharp UK slowdown in the second half with full-price growth near 1.9% but maintains full-year guidance for about 7.5% group sales growth and around £1.11 billion in profit.
• Shares fell about 6% in early trading after the company cautioned on weaker domestic prospects.
• First-half performance was boosted by warm weather and disruption at Marks & Spencer following a cyberattack, which the company does not expect to repeat.
• Vacancies at Next are down about 35% and applications are up 76%, with the firm warning NIC and minimum wage increases plus mechanisation and AI are squeezing entry-level roles, while international sales are projected to jump roughly 23.8% this year.