Shares in Next were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading ahead of the retailer's full year results, expected tomorrow.

At the beginning of the year the group said that while it was cautious it still expected full year profits to be in line with previous guidance at between £540 million and £555 million.

The group may see rising cotton prices and the hike in VAT in January negatively affect its like for like store sales, although this may be offset to a degree by an expansion in store space and the growth of its catalogue "Directory" business.

Ahead of the results Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said, "Management's almost now customary accompanying cautious comments are likely to be seen, although pre-tax profit outcome at the higher end of management's guidance range would equate to a nine per cent increase over the last year. Prior to the results, market consensus opinion currently denotes a strong hold."

By 16:50 shares in Next were up 1.45 per cent on the FTSE 100 to 1,965.00 pence per share.

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