Next reaffirms profit guidance as Q3 sales edge higher

British high street giant New Look has reaffirmed its full-year profit outlook after seeing its sales increase slightly more than expected in the third quarter.

The company said it expects profit before tax for the year to come in at 840 million pounds, representing growth of 2.1 percent from a year earlier.

Based on that guidance, its earnings per share of 554.5p would be up 4.5 percent year-over-year.

Next sales inch higher

It comes as the retailer saw a 0.4 percent increase in full price sales in the three months to October 29, which was slightly ahead of expectation.

Full price sales in the last five weeks of the quarter were up 1.4 percent, boosted by a particularly strong week at the end of September when temperatures dropped, resulting in an increase in purchases of heavier weight products.

Breaking it down by channel, online sales dropped 1.9 percent compared to a year ago, while retail sales in the UK and Ireland were up 3.1 percent.

Next also maintained its previous outlook for full price sales for the rest of the year to be down 2 percent versus last year.

The company said it will provide an update on the important Christmas sales period on January 5.