Clothing retailer Next has produced a 22 per cent leap in pre-tax profits.
It said pre-tax profit for the year to January 26th grew to £266 million sterling compared with analysts' estimates of between £250 million and £270 million.
Turnover rose 18 per cent to £1.872 billion, the third consecutive year Next has delivered double-digit sales and earnings growth. Sales have held up well since Christmas to be up 7 per cent on a like-for-like basis in the first seven weeks of the new financial year.
British-owned Next said today it had doubled its normal expansion rate last year by taking over stores from C&A, the European retailer that left Britain and Ireland after racking up huge losses.
Next is moving into bigger stores where it can offer an extended range of homewares and is giving up smaller spaces.
New Chief Executive Simon Wolfson said in January that 2001 had been an exceptional year for the sector and said the company was planning for a return to more normal growth rates of 3-5 per cent.
Shares in Next were up 3.44 per cent or 34p to £10.20 in early trade today. They have climbed 22 per cent in the last 12 months, performing in line with the British retail sector. However, Marks & Spencer was the FTSE 100's best performer last year, gaining 94 per cent.