Fashion and home furnishings retailer Next has reported a growth in half year sales as it also raises profit guidance.

According to its latest trading update, Q2 sales were up 3.2% on last year, exceeding its expectations by £42m as Next had forecasted a decline of 0.3%.

As for the half year period, sales rose 4.4%, ahead of its guidance of 2.5%, while total group sales, including finance interest income, increased 8%.

Due to the uptick, Next has increased its profit guidance for the full year by +£20m to £980m, up +6.7% versus last year.  The profit improvement came from additional sales (£11m) and cost savings (£9m), mainly in logistics.

“Our full price sales in the UK (Online and Retail combined) were only slightly ahead of our expectations, up +0.4%; Overseas sales online were much better than expected, and were up +21.9%,” the retailer said.

“We are maintaining our guidance for full price sales in the second half to be up +2.5% versus last year. This might seem cautious when compared with the performance in the first half, which was up +4.4%. 

“However, when compared to two years ago, growth in the first half and the forecast for the second half are almost identical. Total Group sales for the full year are expected to be up +6.0% on last year. The difference is the result of acquisitions completed during last year.”