British clothing retailer Next expects annual profits to be slightly ahead of analysts' current average forecast.
Next said today it expected annual profit before tax to be within a range of £463 million sterling ($913 million) to £473 million sterling.
The chain is the first major British retailer to give an indication of its performance in the run up to Christmas.
"In a challenging year we will have increased group profits through good control of stocks, margins and costs, along with a strong sales performance in Next Directory," Next said in a statement.
Sales at the online and home shopping Directory business rose 9.3 per cent in the period from July 31st to December 24th, compared with a 6.9 per cent fall in like-for-like sales at Next's 308 shops that have been unaffected by new openings.
Analysts had forecast Next would undershoot its targeted sales performance of -2 to -5 per cent at its stores in the second half of its financial year.
Early anecdotal evidence suggests a mixed performance for British retailers over Christmas, with premium and luxury goods stores, online retailers and supermarket giant Tesco expected to have performed strongly.
