Company Report · From the primary document
Next plc, Results for the Half Year 2026/27: Profit Up 10.5%, Guidance Raised Again, and the Middle East Named on the Margin Line
Published Thursday 17 September 2026 for the 26 weeks to 1 August 2026, via RNS and the London Stock Exchange PDF. Figures below are the company's own.
Full-price sales rose 7.7 percent (total sales including markdown +8.9%); group sales including subsidiaries reached £3,540m, up 9.0 percent; profit before tax was £569m, up 10.5 percent; post-tax earnings per share 370.4p, up 12.2 percent. The interim dividend is 98p, payable 4 January 2027. By channel, U.K. full-price sales grew 3.6 percent (online +7.4%, retail stores -1.7%) and international online 23.9 percent; by region, Europe +28 percent, the Middle East +14 percent, the United States +255 percent from a small base. Sales through third-party aggregators rose 23 percent; international marketing spend rose 63 percent to £51m at £1.77 of incremental profit per pound.
Guidance for the year to January 2027 rose to full-price sales of +6.7 percent (about £6.0bn) and profit before tax of £1,255m, up 8.4 percent and £12m above the £1,243m set on 5 August — "a small upgrade in sales expectations and some additional cost savings, mainly in warehousing." The second half is guided to +5.8 percent full-price growth, with U.K. growth moderated "down from +2.8% to +2.0%" and international online to +20.5 percent as the group annualises last year's aggregator step-change. Buybacks of £355m were made in the half against £81m a year earlier; the full-year estimate is £535m.
Demand. Middle East online full-price sales +14 percent in the half; "the conflict in the Middle East" is cited as a first-quarter disruptor before "underlying growth in Q2 bounced back," with "some of this growth in Q2 driven by pent-up demand."
Cost. "Parcel surcharges arising from the Middle East conflict (-1.3%), offset by price increases (+0.5%)" on the international margin bridge.
Stores. Franchise and wholesale profit of £3m "was lower than last year, due to franchise store closures last year and disruption from the Middle East conflict this year."
Consumer. "Rising inflation, higher mortgage interest costs and a weak employment market" are the primary U.K. concerns; the tax burden "seems to us to be at the point where further increases only risk stifling growth."
Sources: Next plc, "Results for the Half Year 2026/27," RNS 17 Sep 2026 (PDF) · Next plc regulatory feed · Reuters via Investing.com, 17 Sep · TheIndustry.fashion, 17 Sep · Next plc, "Results for the Half Year 2026/27," RNS 17 Sep 2026 (PDF) · Next plc regulatory feed . Reaction: Reuters via Investing.com, 17 Sep · TheIndustry.fashion, 17 Sep . Shares closed +2.47% at 14,920p (Bigdata.com).