In trending news on UK stocks, FTSE 100-listed Next PLC‘s (GB:NXT) shares surged to a record high following its strong results for the year to January 2024. The company’s profit before tax grew by 5% to £918 million compared to a year ago. This exceeded the guidance of £915 million provided in January, primarily attributed to higher clearance rates of sale stock in January. Next shares gained nearly 5% as of writing, hitting an all-time high. The stock has rallied by 30% in the last 12 months.
Next is a well-known UK retail brand recognized for its offerings in clothing, footwear, and home goods.
Next Shines with Robust Results
Next had a successful 2023 with multiple sales and profit upgrades. For the year, the company’s total sales increased by 5.9% to £5.8 billion.
The company’s online overseas business showed strong progress, with sales increasing by 14.5% on a constant currency basis. Additionally, there was an improvement in net margins from 8.6% to 13%. This was driven by higher spending on digital marketing, improved sales with third-party aggregators, and the removal of unprofitable products.
Speaking of shareholders’ returns, Next proposed a final dividend of 141p per share, bringing the total dividends for the year to 207p per share. During the year, the company generated £684 million in surplus cash, enabling it to return £425 million to shareholders through a mix of dividends worth £248 million and share buybacks of £177 million.
Moving forward, Next anticipates another strong year ahead. It forecasts a 6% growth in group sales and a 4.6% rise in group profit guidance of £960 million.
Are Next Shares a Good Buy?
According to TipRanks’ consensus, NXT stock has received a Hold rating, backed by all Hold recommendations from six analysts. The Next share price forecast is 7,991.67p, which is 11% below the current trading levels.
