Final Results

Next PLC 25 March 2004 Date: Embargoed until 07.00am, Thursday 25 March 2004 Contacts: Simon Wolfson, Chief Executive David Keens, Group Finance Director NEXT PLC Tel: 020 7796 4133 (25/03/2004) Tel: 08454 567777 (thereafter) Alistair Mackinnon-Musson Philip Dennis Hudson Sandler Tel: 020 7796 4133 Email: next@hspr.co.uk Photographs available: http://www.next.co.uk/press/ (or Hudson Sandler, as above) NEXT PLC RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED JANUARY 2004 • NEXT Brand turnover up 14% to £2,343m • Group profit before interest up 23% to £371m • Buyback 7.6% of share capital for £209m • Earnings per share up 34% to 92.1p • Total dividend up 13% to 35p CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT I am pleased to report that NEXT has had another successful year, we achieved good growth in both sales and profits. Earnings per share rose by 34% to 92.1p, enhanced by the beneficial effect of share buybacks over the last two years. We began to buy back our shares in March 2000 and since then we have bought and cancelled 109 million shares, representing 29% of the shares in issue at that date. The long term growth in earnings per share continues to be one of our key objectives, and we will continue to buy back our shares when it is in the interests of our shareholders. Two of our non-executive directors will be retiring from the Board at the Annual General Meeting: • Alistair Mitchell-Innes was appointed in 1989 and throughout his 15 years with us he has maintained an independent approach, always probing the policies and performance of the executive team in his persistent yet thoughtful way. I was delighted when he accepted the invitation to become Deputy Chairman in May 2002. Alistair has also been the Chairman of the NEXT Pension Scheme since 1991 and has agreed to continue in that role for a short period in order to ensure an efficient handover to his successor. • Ann Burdus joined the Board in 1993 and we have all benefited from her wide experience in marketing as well as her common sense approach to business. On behalf of everyone at NEXT I would like to thank Alistair and Ann for their contribution to our success and wish them well for the future. We appointed Nick Brookes to the Board in June 2003 and we are currently looking for another non-executive director. I am pleased to announce that John Barton has accepted the invitation to become Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director at the conclusion of this year's AGM. The success of NEXT owes so much to: • The strength and skills of a well motivated management team. • The enthusiasm and dedication of all our employees. • The support of our suppliers with whom we work in partnership to provide products of good quality and value for our customers. I thank them all for their contribution to another successful year. David Jones CBE Chairman CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW INTRODUCTION In the year to January 2004 Group turnover was £2,516m, 14% ahead of the previous year. Sales in NEXT Retail were up 14% and in NEXT Directory were up 13%. The year consisted of 52 weeks for NEXT Retail and Directory, compared with 53 weeks last year. On a comparable 52 week basis NEXT Retail sales increased by 16% and Directory by 15%. Group profit before interest and tax increased by 23%. The increase in operating profit was significantly ahead of growth in total sales. Full price sales (which are the real driver of profit) were up 16.8% whereas markdown sales were level with last year. Tight control of costs also contributed to further growth in operating profit. Share buybacks had two significant effects on the profit and loss account: • An increased interest charge, which restricted the increase in profit after tax to 16%. • The reduced number of shares in issue, which accelerated the growth in earnings per share to 34%. PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT Turnover and profit figures are set out in the table below: Turnover Profit & Excluding VAT Earnings Per Share 2004 2003 2004 2003 £m £m £m £m NEXT Retail 1,809.3 1,579.7 259.4 213.9 NEXT Directory 533.7 471.7 77.0 65.1 The NEXT Brand 2,343.0 2,051.4 336.4 279.0 NEXT Franchise 28.8 22.7 5.3 4.4 Ventura 112.0 97.4 15.4 11.2 Other activities 32.2 31.1 18.6 15.1 ESOP charge (5.1) -(8.2) Turnover & operating Profit 2,516.0 2,202.6 370.6 301.5 Interest expense (17.3) (0.3) Profit before tax 353.3 301.2 Taxation (108.1) (90.7) Profit after tax 245.2 210.5 Earnings per share 92.1p 68.7p STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL OBJECTIVE The financial objective of the Group is to maximise sustainable long-term growth in earnings per share. We aim to achieve this by: • Continuing to advance the underlying operating profit of the NEXT Group. This will mainly be achieved through the development of product ranges, expansion of our selling space and the growth of our home shopping business. • Continuing to buy back our shares for cancellation as and when it is in the interests of our shareholders generally. The increase in our share price and in interest rates makes buybacks less beneficial and this year we may not be as active in the market as in the last two years. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEXT PRODUCT Improving style, quality and value The style, quality and value of our ranges remain our highest priority. We believe that it is the product that makes the brand successful, not vice versa. Over the past year we have made significant improvements to our supply base and this, combined with a weaker dollar, has enabled us to pass on noticeable improvements in value to our customers without sacrificing gross margin. This effort to improve value through better sourcing and selection will remain at the heart of our business in the year ahead. Price deflation As a result of improved value our average selling price has declined. Some commentators see this as a concern, we do not. As long as price reductions are not at the expense of margin or quality then the drop in average selling price is an advantage. This delivers better value to our customers and so increases sales. New product We continue to develop and expand our product ranges where we believe an understanding of our customers, combined with our design skills, can genuinely add value. In the year ahead we will be focusing on improving our supplier base in some new product areas, in particular Home and Lingerie. Whilst new product areas are exciting, we anticipate that the majority of our growth will still come from the development of our core clothing and home ranges. THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT RETAIL Rationale for space expansion Our most important objective in NEXT Retail is to profitably expand our selling space. We believe that new space will continue to make a contribution to the growth of sales and profits in the years ahead, because it enables us to offer our customers a greater choice of product in a more comfortable shopping environment. The drive for new space is governed by strict financial criteria. Every new store aims to pay back the net capital invested in less than 24 months and to achieve at least 15% store profit on sales before distribution and central costs. When appraising new stores we account for downturn in neighbouring stores and do not factor in any future like-for-like growth. The store must achieve its investment criteria on the basis of its expected first year sales. Performance of new space We have continued to develop our store portfolio both in and out of town. This year's portfolio of new space is exceeding its appraised sales target by 12% and is forecast to pay back the net capital invested in 12 months. Profile of new space During the year we added a net 506,000 square feet to our trading space, increasing the total by 21% to 2,844,000 square feet. The table below shows how our store portfolio has changed over the last three years. Store Size Number of Stores % of Selling Space (square feet) 2004 2003 2002 2004 2003 2002 Less than 5,000 166 182 198 18% 23% 29% 5,000-10,000 99 96 86 26% 29% 30% 10,000-15,000 45 34 22 19% 18% 14% 15,000-20,000 25 19 14 15% 14% 12% Greater than 20,000 23 13 11 22% 16% 15% TOTAL 358 344 331 The year ahead We currently expect to increase net selling space by around 420,000 square feet in the year ahead, less than was achieved in the year to January 2004. Impact on like-for-like sales NEXT defines like-for-like stores as those that have traded for at least one full year and have not benefited from significant capital expenditure. Inevitably this includes all those stores that have been affected by new openings. Over the past year we have shown both the headline like-for-like figures and separately shown the deflection to give underlying growth in stores that have not been affected by new openings. Total like-for-like sales were up 1.8% whilst those stores unaffected by new openings were up 3.7%. It is this last figure which we focus on when analysing the performance of our ranges. Trial store in Denmark This year we will open a trial store in Copenhagen. We believe that most of the major fashion markets in Europe are not yet similar enough to the UK to allow us to make adequate returns on investment in those countries. However the success of our franchise in Iceland raised the possibility that the Scandinavian market may be more aligned with UK tastes. Only time will tell, and it will be at least a year before we can draw any firm conclusions. Even if a test store is successful in one overseas market it does not imply success will follow in other overseas markets. Any further international expansion will be extremely cautious and the main opportunities for growth will remain in our core markets of the UK and Eire. THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEXT DIRECTORY Directory profitability addressed At the half year we reported good growth in Directory sales but no growth in profit. The corrective measures we outlined at the time, along with improved stock availability and reduced product returns rates, have been successful in restoring growth in profit. Growing the customer base The growth in new customers has been the most significant contributor to the growth of sales in our home shopping division. We start the new year with 13% more customers than a year ago. January 2004 January 2003 Growth Total Active Customers 1,660,000 1,467,000 13% During the last half of the year we experienced a noticeable decline in response rates to certain forms of customer recruitment. As a result we have cut out some unprofitable advertising and direct mail. We therefore currently expect more modest growth in customer numbers in the year ahead. Expansion of pages and product offer We have continued to increase the number of pages in order to expand the choice of product available to the NEXT home shopper. The table below shows how the pages printed for each product area have increased. The fastest growth has come from the Home area. PAGES 2004 2003 Growth Womens 890 829 7% Mens 490 465 5% Childrens 476 428 11% Home 652 454 44% TOTAL 2,508 2,176 15% Improving service We continue to improve and expand store based services for our Directory customers. Last year over two million Directory items were collected or returned via our stores. In addition we have increased the number of customers who are able to use their Directory account to make purchases in NEXT stores from 424,000 in January 2003 to 588,000 in January 2004. Inevitably this has meant there has been some transfer of business from Directory to Retail. However, as both businesses are making similar net margins, our only concern is that the customer is able to purchase and return goods in the way that is most convenient to them. In the coming year we will be looking at providing other call-centre and store based services, for example we will be trialling a Wedding List service. PLANNED WAREHOUSE INVESTMENTS In order to support the growth of both Retail and Directory we will be making significant investments in warehousing over the next two years. In August 2004 we will open a new warehouse specifically for Home product. This will be 600,000 square feet and incur fit out costs of £8 million. In August 2005 we plan to open another warehouse for boxed stock, it will be 300,000 square feet, highly mechanised and cost in the region of £38 million to fit out. In both cases the warehouses are being built to our specification and will be leased. NEXT FRANCHISE Our overseas franchise operation had another successful year, with sales increasing by 27% and achieving a profit of £5.3m. At the end of January 2004 there were 70 franchise stores compared with 59 the previous year. The Middle East continues to be our largest region with 30 stores. Our partner in Japan now has 18 stores. We expect further progress in the year ahead. VENTURA Ventura performed well ahead of our expectations, both in terms of sales achieved and costs controlled. It commenced providing services on behalf of several new clients, including the Pension Credit Service and British Gas. Operating efficiencies have increased and we expect all existing call centre facilities will be fully occupied in the near future. We are therefore pursuing opportunities to add capacity during the coming year in order to accommodate increasing demand from existing and new clients. Ventura's profit increased to £15.4m compared with £11.2m the previous year. Whilst the majority of this profit came from customer service activities the residual consumer credit business remains profitable and contributed £2m for the year. We continue to make good progress in broadening the client base through offering high quality services at very competitive prices. We believe that Ventura can grow over the next five years, however, following the re-negotiation of Ventura's largest contract at lower margins we expect profits to take a step backwards in the year ahead. OTHER ACTIVITIES The profit in Other Activities of £18.6m includes £17.6m from NEXT Asia, our product sourcing company in the Far East, and the first full year contribution of £6.1m from NEXT Near East, which we purchased in July 2002 and sources product manufactured in Turkey, Sri Lanka and Romania. Other Activities also includes our Property Management Division, Choice (an associated company which operates a chain of thirteen discount stores), Cotton Traders (an associated company selling its own brand products) and Central Costs, the largest of which is a pension charge. The total cost of the Group's pension schemes increased to £17.6m from £11.2m last year, including a charge of £6m in respect of the past service deficit. A year ago we estimated the deficit to be £62m whereas at January 2004 we estimated it to be £44m. This would require reduced annual payments of £4m, in addition to the regular cost, to eliminate the deficit over the next thirteen years. We have continued to recognise the cost of our Sharesave and Management share option schemes through the Profit and Loss account. Over the past five years the average annual charge has been £5.3m, this year the charge amounted to £5.1m compared with £8.2m last year. Almost 9,000 of our employees currently hold a total of 9 million share options in NEXT. Our employee share ownership trust purchases shares in the market and issues them to employees when options are exercised, the 8 million shares which it owns are shown in the balance sheet as a fixed asset investment. SHARE BUYBACKS During the year we purchased a further 21.7 million shares for cancellation at an average price of 961p, for a cash cost of £209m. This was 7.6% of the shares in issue at the beginning of the year. The average number of shares in issue during the year was 275 million and at 31 January there were 265 million outstanding. As a direct result of share buybacks over the past two years, this year's earnings per share were enhanced by 12%. It is worth repeating the Board's policy on the use of debt to buy back shares: • The primary use of capital will continue to be investment in the development of the core businesses. Share buybacks will not be made at the expense of capital investment in the business. • We aim to maintain the company's investment grade credit rating. We intend to continue with our strategy of buying back shares as and when it is in the interests of shareholders generally. BALANCE SHEET AND CASH FLOW At January 2004 net borrowings were £306m compared with £189m the previous year. The cash outflow of £117m was due to the £209m cost of shares purchased for cancellation, excluding this the cash inflow was £92m. Borrowings are financed through a £300m 5.25% 10 year bond, which was issued in June 2003, and medium term bank facilities. The majority of our borrowings are now at fixed interest rates and therefore, at current levels of debt, any rate changes in the medium term will not have a significant impact on our cost of borrowing. Capital expenditure amounted to £101m, of which £82m was spent on stores. Stock levels at £264m were in line with our trading requirements. Debtors of £378m includes the £272m account balances of our Directory customers. These balances have increased faster than our home shopping sales as many customers use their Directory Storecard to make additional purchases whilst in our stores. DIVIDEND The Directors are pleased to recommend a final dividend of 24p against 21p last year, bringing the total for the year to 35p compared with 31p last year, an increase of 13%. The dividend is covered 2.6 times by earnings per share of 92.1p. CURRENT TRADING The new season has started well, however, it is important to note that this year's trading statement includes Mothers Day which was not the case last year. We estimate this has increased sales by at least 1% in the seven week period. In the first seven weeks since the start of the new financial year NEXT Retail sales are 17% ahead of the previous year. Like-for-like sales in the 306 stores which have been trading for at least one year are 3.0% ahead. Included in those stores are 26 that, as anticipated, have been directly affected by new store openings and extensions. Underlying sales in the 280 stores which have not been affected by new space are 4.8% ahead of last year. NEXT Directory sales for the first seven weeks are 13% ahead of the previous year. Taken together, sales for the NEXT Brand are 16% ahead. Our next trading statement will be made on 13 May 2004, which is the date of our Annual General Meeting. Simon Wolfson 25 March 2004 CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT For the financial year ended 31 January 2004 2003 £m £m (Unaudited) Turnover 2,516.0 2,202.6 _________ _________ Profit before interest 370.6 301.5 Net interest payable (17.3) (0.3) _________ _________ Profit on ordinary activities before taxation 353.3 301.2 Taxation on profit on ordinary activities (108.1) (90.7) _________ _________ Profit on ordinary activities after taxation 245.2 210.5 Dividends (89.3) (86.0) _________ _________ Profit for the year transferred to reserves 155.9 124.5 ________ ________ Earnings per share 92.1p 68.7p Diluted earnings per share 91.2p 68.1p CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES For the financial year ended 31 January 2004 2003 £m £m Profit attributable to members of the parent company 245.2 210.5 Exchange difference on translation of net assets of subsidiary undertakings (1.6) (4.6) _________ _________ Total recognised gains and losses relating to the year 243.6 205.9 _________ _________ CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET As at 31 January 2004 2003 £m £m (Unaudited) Fixed assets Goodwill 36.2 31.0 Tangible assets 355.7 323.1 Investments 1.0 0.5 Investment in own shares 65.9 47.0 ________ ________ 458.8 401.6 ________ ________ Current assets Property development stocks 5.9 9.1 Stocks 263.5 234.9 Debtors 378.5 318.1 Cash at bank and in hand 62.3 32.6 ________ ________ 710.2 594.7 Current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 576.6 664.9 ________ ________ Net current assets/(liabilities) 133.6 (70.2) ________ ________ Total assets less current liabilities 592.4 331.4 Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 352.7 37.0 Provision for liabilities and charges 18.7 19.3 ________ ________ Net assets 221.0 275.1 ________ ________ Capital and reserves Called up share capital 26.5 28.7 Share premium account 0.6 - Revaluation reserve 14.0 14.8 Capital redemption reserve 3.4 1.2 Other reserves (1,448.9) (1,448.9) Profit and loss account 1,625.4 1,679.3 ________ ________ Shareholders' funds 221.0 275.1 ________ ________ CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT For the financial year ended 31 January 2004 2003 £m £m Net cash inflow from operating activities 402.2 314.9 ________ ________ Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest paid (9.7) (1.1) ________ ________ Taxation UK corporation tax paid (91.8) (90.8) UK corporation tax overpayment received - 4.0 Overseas tax paid (4.5) (3.4) ________ ________ (96.3) (90.2) ________ ________ Capital expenditure and financial investment Purchase of tangible fixed assets (99.8) (86.3) Proceeds from disposal of fixed assets 4.2 3.1 Purchase of own shares by ESOP (40.2) (29.6) Proceeds from disposal of shares by ESOP 16.2 12.3 ________ ________ (119.6) (100.5) ________ ________ Acquisitions and disposals Disposal of subsidiary undertakings - (1.2) Purchase of subsidiary undertakings - (24.6) ________ ________ - (25.8) ________ ________ Equity dividends paid (85.4) (88.4) ________ ________ Cash inflow before management of liquid resources and financing 91.2 8.9 Management of liquid resources 4.3 152.8 Financing Issue of equity shares 0.6 - Issue of preference shares - 0.1 Company shares purchased for cancellation (209.0) (391.8) Capital element of finance lease repayments (0.1) - Unsecured bank loans (150.0) 210.0 Issue of corporate bond 300.0 - ________ ________ (58.5) (181.7) ________ ________ Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year 37.0 (20.0) ________ ________ Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year 37.0 (20.0) Cash realised from reduction in liquid resources (4.3) (152.8) Decrease/(increase) in cash from unsecured bank loan 150.0 (210.0) Cash inflow from corporate bond issue (300.0) - Capital element of finance lease repayments 0.1 - ________ ________ Changes in net funds resulting from cash flows (117.2) (382.8) New finance leases (0.9) - ________ ________ Movement in net debt in the period (118.1) (382.8) Net (debt)/funds at January 2003 (188.8) 194.0 ________ ________ Net debt at January 2004 (306.9) (188.8) ________ ________ BASIS OF PREPARATION The report was approved by the Board of Directors on 25 March 2004. Accounting policies adopted are consistent with those set out in the accounts for the year ended 1 February 2003. The financial information for the year ended 31 January 2004 is unaudited and does not constitute full accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The financial information for the year ended 1 February 2003 has been extracted from the full accounts for that year which have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and on which the auditors have issued an unqualified audit report. SEGMENTAL INFORMATION The results for the year are for the 52 weeks to 31 January 2004 (last year 53 weeks to 1 February 2003) with the exception of Ventura and certain other activities which relate to the year to 31 January. By business sector: Turnover Operating profit 2004 2003 2004 2003 £m £m £m £m NEXT Retail 1,809.3 1,579.7 259.4 213.9 NEXT Directory 533.7 471.7 77.0 65.1 NEXT Franchise 28.8 22.7 5.3 4.4 Ventura 112.0 97.4 15.4 11.2 Other activities 32.2 31.1 13.5 6.9 _________ _________ _______ _______ 2,516.0 2,202.6 370.6 301.5 _________ _________ _______ _______ By geographical destination: United Kingdom 2,438.3 2,131.4 343.9 278.8 Rest of Europe 53.2 49.7 1.4 1.2 North America - - 0.2 0.1 Middle East 16.8 13.6 3.0 2.4 Asia 7.7 5.5 22.1 18.9 Australasia - 2.4 - 0.1 _________ _________ _______ _______ 2,516.0 2,202.6 370.6 301.5 _________ _________ _______ _______ EARNINGS PER SHARE The calculation of earnings per share is based on £245.2m (2003: £210.5m) being the profit for the year after taxation and 266.3m ordinary shares of 10p each (2003: 306.2m), being the weighted average number of shares ranking for dividend less the weighted average number of shares held by the ESOP during the year. The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on £245.2m (2003: £210.5m) being the profit for the year after taxation and 268.9m ordinary shares of 10p each (2003: 308.9m) being the weighted average number of shares used for the calculation of earnings per share above increased by the dilutive effect of potential ordinary shares from employee share option schemes of 2.6m shares (2003: 2.7m shares). HALF YEAR ANALYSIS For the financial year ended January First Second First Second half half 2004 half half 2003 £m £m £m £m £m £m Turnover NEXT Retail 797.4 1,011.9 1,809.3 656.0 923.7 1,579.7 NEXT Directory 247.1 286.6 533.7 215.3 256.4 471.7 NEXT Franchise 13.2 15.6 28.8 10.0 12.7 22.7 Ventura 52.9 59.1 112.0 49.7 47.7 97.4 Other activities 10.4 21.8 32.2 13.8 17.3 31.1 _________ _________ _________ _______ _________ _________ 1,121.0 1,395.0 2,516.0 944.8 1,257.8 2,202.6 _________ _________ _________ _______ _________ _________ Profit before tax NEXT Retail 85.8 173.6 259.4 74.5 139.4 213.9 NEXT Directory 30.2 46.8 77.0 30.2 34.9 65.1 NEXT Franchise 2.4 2.9 5.3 1.9 2.5 4.4 Ventura 5.9 9.5 15.4 5.0 6.2 11.2 Other activities 8.6 10.0 18.6 6.5 8.6 15.1 ESOP charge (2.5) (2.6) (5.1) (4.5) (3.7) (8.2) _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Profit before interest 130.4 240.2 370.6 113.6 187.9 301.5 Interest (charge)/ income (7.2) (10.1) (17.3) 2.2 (2.5) (0.3) _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ Profit before tax 123.2 230.1 353.3 115.8 185.4 301.2 _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ RECONCILIATION OF SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS 2004 2003 £m £m Total recognised gains and losses 243.6 205.9 Dividends (89.3) (86.0) Shares purchased for cancellation (209.0) (391.7) New ordinary share capital issued 0.6 - New preference share capital issued - 0.1 Preference shares redeemed - (0.1) _______ _______ Total movement during the year (54.1) (271.8) Shareholders' funds at January 2003 275.1 546.9 _______ _______ Shareholders' funds at January 2004 221.0 275.1 _______ _______ CASH FLOW: RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING PROFIT TO NET CASH FLOW 2004 2003 £m £m Operating profit before interest 370.6 301.5 Depreciation 62.3 59.1 Amortisation of goodwill 4.4 1.6 Loss on disposal of fixed assets 1.4 0.1 Anticipated deficit in ESOP 5.1 8.2 Income from interest in associated undertakings (0.7) (0.4) Increase in stock (25.6) (62.8) Increase in debtors (61.9) (39.7) Increase in creditors 48.3 52.1 Exchange movement (1.7) (4.8) _______ _______ Net cash inflow from operating activities 402.2 314.9 _______ _______ CASH FLOW: ANALYSIS OF NET DEBT January Cash Other non-cash January 2003 flow changes 2004 £m £m £m £m Cash in hand 25.3 32.0 - 57.3 Overnight (borrowings)/deposits (10.0) 12.0 - 2.0 Overdrafts (1.4) (7.0) - (8.4) ________ ________ ________ ________ 13.9 37.0 50.9 - Short term deposits 7.3 (4.3) - 3.0 Unsecured bank loans (210.0) 150.0 - (60.0) Corporate bond - (300.0) - (300.0) Finance leases - 0.1 (0.9) (0.8) ________ ________ ________ ________ Total (188.8) (117.2) (0.9) (306.9) ________ ________ ________ ________ AGM / DIVIDEND / ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS It is intended that the recommended dividend will be paid on 1 July 2004 to shareholders registered on 28 May 2004. The Annual General Meeting will be held at One Great George Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3AA on Thursday 13 May 2004. The Annual Report and Accounts will be sent to shareholders by 14 April 2004 and copies will be available from the Company's registered office: Desford Road, Enderby, Leicester LE19 4AT and on the Company's website at www.next.co.uk. This interim statement, the full text of the Stock Exchange announcement and the interim results presentation can be found on the company's website at www.next.co.uk. Statements made in this announcement that look forward in time or that express management's beliefs, expectations or estimates regarding future occurrences and prospects are 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the United States federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect NEXT's current expectations concerning future events and actual results may differ materially from current expectations or historical results. Any such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to failure by NEXT to predict accurately customer fashion preferences; decline in the demand for merchandise offered by NEXT; competitive influences; changes in levels of store traffic or consumer spending habits; effectiveness of NEXT's brand awareness and marketing programmes; general economic conditions or a downturn in the retail industry; the inability of NEXT to successfully implement relocation or expansion of existing stores; lack of sufficient consumer interest in NEXT Directory; acts of war or terrorism worldwide; work stoppages, slowdowns or strikes; and changes in financial and equity markets. - ENDS - This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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