British fashion chain Next Plc said today its first-half earnings per share rose 11.3 percent, adding that sales remained volatile and had been positively affected by the cooler weather.
First-half pretax profits came in at £178.9 million compared with last year's figure of £172.6 million.
The company, which has several stores in Ireland, said latest like-for-like sales in stores that traded continuously and were not affected by the opening of new space were up 0.3 percent on last year.