
Next to reveal jump in profit despite rising costs and trade war uncertainty
Next is expected to post rising profits next week despite a string of costs increases hitting retailers and broader concerns about UK consumer confidence.
The retail giant will reveal its first quarter results on May 8, hot on the heels of profits of more than £1 billion last year.
Next, which has more than 450 stores across the UK, reported pre-tax profits of £1.01 billion for the year to January, up 10% compared with the previous year.
Its boss, Lord Simon Wolfson, said trading in the opening part of this financial year had been better than expected at the recent update.
Next raised its guidance for 2025-26 in response, pencilling in sales growth of 5% to £5.3 billion and profits up 5.4% to £1.07 billion.
But Next, like other retailers, has had to contend with a slew of cost increases since it posted its full-year results in March.
National insurance contributions (Nics), a tax which makes it more expensive to employ people, went up in April, along with the minimum wage.
Meanwhile, UK consumer confidence has also fallen to the lowest level in more than a year amid concerns that Donald Trump's trade tariffs could push up living costs, according to a recent poll by data company GfK.
And Next, which sells its products online to the US market, could also see a knock-on impact from Mr Trump's tariffs on sales.
Russ Mould, an analyst at AJ Bell, said Next has a 'knack of exceeding expectations – a knack it demonstrated again in March when chief executive Simon Wolfson nudged up expectations for full-price sales and pre-tax profits for the year to January 2026'.
He added: 'That positive steer has helped take Next's shares to new all-time highs, despite wider stock market volatility.'
Shares were up 27% for the year-to-date on Friday.
Next has already said it will have to raise prices by around 1% to offset the impact of Nics and minimum wage increases.
Its first quarter results come amid a string of cyber attacks against UK retailers, with Marks & Spencer and Harrods facing issues in recent days.
As of Friday morning, M&S was unable to process online orders after shutting down parts of its online systems to deal with a 'cyber incident'.
M&S first reported the issue over the Easter weekend but has seen its operations impacted for more than a week.

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In defence of the Trump playbook
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BBC News
an hour ago
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And while the financial details of the Ministry of Defence development have not been revealed, the New York Times has reported that the Serbian government will get 22% of future profits. "For a small and specific market – ex-Yugoslavia, outside the EU – all publicity is good publicity," says James Thornley, a former senior partner at KPMG Serbia, who is now a partner at financial consultants KP Advisory in Belgrade."If you have major international players coming in, it's a pull, it's a draw. You're getting the name and opportunity out there."Mr Thornley has lived in Serbia for 25 years and is fully aware of the sensitivities surrounding the Defence Ministry complex. But he believes that views would change once people saw the benefits of the development."That site is an eyesore and should be resolved," he says. "Nothing's happened for 26 years, let's get it sorted out." But not everyone involved with international investment in Serbia is so Peirson was the managing director of global real estate giant CBRE in Southeast Europe, and now holds the same role at iO Partners, which focuses entirely on the admits that the shattered state of the Defence Ministry complex is "not good for the city's image", and that the deal to develop the site is "probably good news, because it shows the country can attract big investments".But he has serious qualms about how the government struck the deal with Affinity Global. Mr Peirson says that there was no open tendering process that would have allowed other firms to bid for the site."With state-owned land, you should be able to prove you're getting market value for the site. The way you usually do that is to run a proper tender process," says Mr Peirson."If it had been in UK, Germany, Hungary or even Romania or Bulgaria, there would have been a process; it would have gone through the open market. Developers that were looking to enter Serbia, or already active, would have been given the chance to buy it themselves."Back in 2023 Vucic said he met with Kushner and had an "excellent conversation" with Jared Kushner regarding the "potential for large and long-term investments."And Donald Trump Jr has since made follow up visits to Belgrade after Affinity Global announced that a Trump International Hotel would form part of the development. The role of Trump Jr and the family business is thought to be limited to the have been raised about the Trumps making commercial deals while Donald Trump is in the White House but his press secretary has rejected any suggestion he is profiting from the Peirson is concerned that the nature of the Ministry of Defence building deal may irk businesses which have already committed to Serbia."If I'm an investor already putting tens or hundreds of millions into the country, I would feel sad that I hadn't been given the chance," he Affinity Global and the Serbian government did not respond to requests for comments about how the deal over the site was agreed, and whether or not there was an open tendering process. Then there is the question of whether a commercial development should be taking place at all. The site, even in its current state, remains architecturally and historically buildings were originally constructed to welcome visitors to the capital of Tito's Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Architect Nikola Dobrovic created two structures on either side of Nemanjina Street which, viewed together, took the form of a design also echoes the contours of Sutjeska Gorge, the site of the Yugoslav Partisans' pivotal victory over Nazi forces in 1943. And in 2005, it was granted protected status under Serbia's cultural heritage laws."No serious city builds a modern future by demolishing its historical centres and cultural monuments," says Estela Radonjic Zivkov, the former deputy director of Serbia's Republic Institute for the Protection of Monuments."For Serbia to progress, it must first respect its own laws and cultural heritage," she insists. "According to Serbian law, it is not possible to revoke the protection of this site." But just when it seemed the site's fate was sealed, Serbian organised crime prosecutors delivered a twist worthy of a Hollywood 14 May, police arrested the official who had given the green light for the lifting of the Defence Ministry complex's protected said Goran Vasic, the acting director of the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, had admitted to fabricating an expert opinion which had been used to justify the change of status. He faces charges of abuse of office and forgery of official admission has been seized on by those opposed to the project as evidence Kushner got preferential treatment. The Serbian government denies this leaves the Affinity Global project – Trump International Hotel and all – is not entirely efforts to arrange an interview with the company have been unsuccessful, though it did issue a statement insisting that Mr Vasic had "no connection to our firm", adding that it would "review this matter and determine next steps".Vucic, meanwhile, denies there is any problem with the development. During a meeting of European leaders in Tirana, he said "there was not any kind of forgery".Still, it seems the Defence Ministry's shattered visage will remain unchanged for a while at least. And thanks to the Trump connection, it will offer even more of a talking point for first-time visitors to Belgrade.