British fashion retailer Next has said its Christmas sales were better than anticipated, adding that annual profits would exceed expectations.
The UK's third biggest clothing retailer said it expected pre-tax profits of at least £340m for the full year which ends in January. The current consensus among analysts is £325m.
Next said like-for-like sales at the store's 304 shops that have traded for at least 12 months were up 2.8% year-on-year in the period from August 4 to December 24.
