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| Next annual profit jumps by 12% | Next annual profit jumps by 12% |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Next has reported a 12% increase in annual profits to £695m. | |
| The UK fashion retailer also reported a 5.4% growth in sales to £3.7bn to the end of January, and increased its expectations for the year ahead. | |
| Sales via its online and catalogue business, Next Directory, grew by more than 12%, while sales at its stores grew by 1.7%. | |
| Next chief executive Lord Wolfson said he was also optimistic about 2014, but warned of a credit-driven recovery. | |
| Credit warning | |
| "If anything has been learnt from the last ten years, it is that credit cannot continue to grow faster than wages forever," he added in a statement. | |
| "Until we see significant increase in the supply side of the economy (profitable investment and improved productivity), we cannot bank on a return to sustained growth." | |
| Next has forecast sales growth of up to 8% this year, raising its previous estimate of 4%. And it expects profits in 2014 to rise by up to £770m. | |
| Despite his credit warning, Lord Wolfson added that the "modest improvement" in the consumer economy looked set to continue through 2014, thanks in part to wages gradually closing the gap with inflation. | |
| Next also said it would increase full year ordinary dividends by 23% to £1.29. | |
| Over the past year it returned £461m to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends, having said it had amassed more cash than it could productively invest in the business. |