Next buoyed by directory in second quarter

Next (NXT) shares enjoyed a 9 per cent rally on the release of a half-year trading update, which beat many analysts’ expectations. The group reported a 0.7 per cent rise in full price sales during the second quarter - something it’s been struggling to do of late. However, full price sales for the year to date are still down 1.2 per cent as a whole. Much of the second-quarter improvement was to be found in the group’s directory business, which grew sales by 11.4 per cent in the latter period. Retail sales, by comparison, fell 7.4 per cent, suggesting that Next is still struggling to drive customers into stores. Breaking the performance down month by month, June marked a real turnaround for Next, implying that warmer weather also lent a helping hand. Year-on-year full-price sales moved from a 3 per cent decline in May to 3 per cent growth the month after.