Results Round Up
Sales at high street fashion chain Next fell 3.9% to £738.9m in the first quarter, with the group cautious about the outlook given the soaring cost of food, fuel, mortgages and taxes.
Next Retail saw sales for the 13 weeks to 26 April drop 5% on the year before to £518.1m, while like for like sales tumbled 8.9%. Next Directory held up better, with sales off 1% to £220.8m
First half sales at Retail are seen down by around 3.5%, with like for like sales set to slide around 7%, the bottom end of the group's forecast range. Directory sales are seen up between 0% and 2%. But the company reckons sales in the second quarter will improve significantly due to last year's poor weather.
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Insurer Royal & Sun Alliance reported a 15% rise in net written premiums to £1.721bn in the first quarter and said it remains confident of achieving a strong result in 2008 and beyond.
However, the group said market conditions remain challenging, adding that it continues to exercise tight operational and financial management, including taking the right action on rate and expenses, to deliver sustainable profitable performance.
