Next (LON:NXT) shares jumped nearly 10 percent on Thursday, after the troubled fashion retailer reported a jump in online sales.
Second quarter sales across all channels beat expectations to rise 0.7 percent, driven by an 11.4 percent jump from its Directory catalogue and internet business.
In-store sales continued to lag however, falling 7.4 percent and leading the company to warn that it remains “cautious” on outlook, given the “current consumer environment.”
Looking ahead the retailer, who have suffered heavily over the past couple of years from lagging consumer demand for its clothing, narrowed their sales guidance range for the full year to -3.0 percent to +0.5 percent.
“This is a small improvement to the mid-point of our previous full price sales guidance”, they said.
George Salmon, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “After the steady flow of bad news over the last 18 months or so, which has seen the shares halve from their 2015 highs, sales trends at Next have improved in recent weeks.
“While this update provides a welcome tonic to shareholders, it’s clear Next is still feeling the heat.”
Next shares are currently trading up 7.97 percent on the news, at 4,333.00 (1010GMT).