Clothing retailer Next said it expected its full-year profits to be slightly ahead of market expectations but warned the outlook for next year was very cautious.
Next said it expected full-year pretax profit to be in the region of £492 million to £502 million, just ahead of market expectations.
Next had been expected to report pretax profit of around £489.2 million according to analysts, up from £478.4 million last year.
Next, which trades from more than 480 stores, said retail like-for-like sales fell 3.2 per cent in the period July 30 to December 24th - compared with a decline of 2.9 per cent in the first 14 weeks of the second half.
In a trading update in early November, Next had said although the outlook remained uncertain as customers grapple with higher debt costs, it was keeping its guidance for retail like-for-like sales falling by 1 per cent to 3.5 per cent in the second half.
Shares in some high street clothing retailers like Next and Debenhams saw big losses in the run-up to Christmas on expectations shoppers would spend less on discretionary items in the face of higher mortgage rates and weaker housing markets.