Yet another superb market update from this company. That's before reading its content. They really do set the standard for information to shareholders. If only other companies followed their lead. The commitment and honesty from the Board give great confidence they are truly interested and diligent in how they run things. I recommend you read it in full, despite it being an "opus".
https://www.investegate.co.uk/next-plc- ... 00052805Z/I can't put it better than the company itself.
"This is a long document: the way the different parts of the business have performed through lockdown, the emerging shape of the Company's finances, the lessons we have learnt over the last few months and the new businesses we are developing all require careful explanation. For those without the time to read the whole report, the 10 page summary starting on page 4 attempts to summarise the main themes and facts within the report.
Our motive for giving such a comprehensive view of the Company's performance and plans goes beyond the primary task of keeping shareholders informed. The more clarity we give about the state of the Company's sales, finances and prospects, the better we ourselves understand the business. The more precise and coherent we are in explaining our objectives and plans, the more likely it is that we will succeed in implementing them - and execution is ninety per cent of the battle! So, our six-monthly reports have become more than just a means of communicating our performance, they are an intrinsic part of planning and leading the organisation."
Not only is the company performing better than it estimated it would throughout the pandemic that has affected retailing so much, it is honest in forecasting the future may well look less rosy than the current period (due to some existing benefits that may not last).
In amongst the detail are some interesting read offs to other sectors and businesses. Lease renewals are proceeding at an average 50% reduction, with a growing number of store leases transforming to "turnover" leases for instance.
Shares were up over 4% yesterday (some given back this morning on the open) to a comfortable post-Covid high.