British fashion retailer Next has reported a 12% fall in first-half pre-tax profits.
The UK's second-largest clothing retailer made an underlying pre-tax profit of £173.5m for the 26 weeks to July 26, down from £198.2m in the same period last year.
The profit decline reflected a fall in sales, partly offset by better margins. Like-for-like sales from 353 Next Retail stores were down 6%, while sales in the Next Directory home shopping operation increased 2.2%.
Many UK retailers are struggling as consumers curb spending because of higher fuel, food and mortgage costs. Fashion retailers have also had to cope with a second consecutive summer of dismal weather.
