Next has raised its annual profit forecast after cashing in on shoppers splashing out on new clothes amid the heatwaves this summer.

Total full-price sales jumped 9.2 per cent over the 13 weeks to August 1, compared with the same period last year. It beat its forecast of a 4 per cent increase over the quarter by £70million.

In the UK, sales were up by 2.8 per cent for the quarter.

In another boost for investors, the FTSE 100 retailer said it now expects annual profits to increase by 7.3 per cent to £1.24billion. It is the third time Next has upgraded its profit expectations this year. 

Shares in Next surged by 5 per cent on Wednesday afternoon after the company said it believes it will make £25million more than its earlier guidance suggested.

This will bolster its position as one of a handful of listed British retailers that has been able to surpass the £1billion profit mark.

Sales benefited from the weather being ‘as warm as last year's exceptional summer, which we had not anticipated,’ the group said.

The UK and other European countries have been hit with high temperatures this summer. Yesterday the UK saw its 34th day of temperatures of 30C or higher in a calendar year – matching the record set in 1995.

An increase in sales came despite a strong comparative period in which Next benefited from the cyber-attack on M&S last spring. The disruption in trading helped to boost its sales.  

Next also said it had been able to cash in on some ‘pent-up demand’ in the Middle East and Northern Europe after a ‘weaker’ first quarter in both areas. 

Chair Lord Wolfson, whose insights into the UK’s economic health are closely watched, has steered Next since 2001. In that time, sales have soared, even as consumer confidence has struggled.

He has also acquired a slew of other businesses over the years, including shoe chain Russell and Bromley in January.

And Next has been reported to be one of the possible bidders to buy beleaguered department store chain Harvey Nichols, among the private-equity firms Modella Capital and Gordon Brothers.

Julie Palmer, managing partner at financial and real estate advisory group BTG, said: ‘Next continue to prove they are the blueprint for retail success as they upgrade profit guidance again. 

 'The fashion retailer remains not only undeterred by the supply chain cost pressures from the war and disruption on the Strait of Hormuz, but even seems to have underestimated the resulting pent-up demand in some markets that has worked in their favour.

‘Even as the heatwave has seen retail footfall drop, Next has bucked the trend with resilient overall sales as people deck out their summer wardrobes both in the UK and internationally.’

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) have shown that shoppers melted away this spring and summer. Record-breaking hot weather at the end of May contributed to a 2.6 per cent year-on-year decline in footfall.