Next Retail this morning reported pre-tax profit for the year to end-January of £353.3 million sterling.
That figure was up from £301.2 million and in line with the Christmas trading statement issued by the company on January 6th when it predicted pretax profit of "not less than £340 million".
The clothing chain, which operates more than 350 shops in the Republic and Britain, and a mail order business, said full-year sales were £2.516 billion, up from £2.203 billion, for the previous 12 months.
Total like-for-like retail sales were up 1.8 per cent, and those stores unaffected by new investment were up 3.7 per cent.
The board raised the final dividend to 24 pence from 21 pence for a total payout of 35 pence, up from 31.
The group said its financial objective is to maximise sustainable long-term growth in earnings per share. It aims to achieve this by continuing to advance the underlying operating profit of the Next group and continuing to buy back shares for cancellation as and when it is in the interests of shareholders generally.
AFP