Clothing giant Next is set to post an £800m full-year profit as it bounces back from the pandemic.
The FTSE 100 retailer is due to issue an update on Thursday to give an insight into the Christmas period.
Bouncing back: Fourth-quarter sales, which include festive trading, are expected to rise 10 per cent
Fourth-quarter sales, which include festive trading, are expected to rise 10 per cent; revenues for the full year are estimated to be up to £4.7billion from £3.5billion.
The £800m profit is more than twice the £342m for the year to January 2021 when lockdown measures forced store closures.
It also exceeds the £749m posted in the full year before the pandemic.
The turnaround is largely due to its online division.
A close eye will be kept on any updates to plans to return excess cash to investors.
Next has said it plans to begin paying out dividends next January and some analysts are pondering whether it will also resume share buybacks.
