FTSE drops as Next warns of 'toughest' year since recession

Miners also down

The FTSE 100 was down 1.3% in morning trading, with Next shares falling 12% after the company warned 2016 "may well be the toughest [year] we have faced since 2008".

Despite announcing a 5% increase in underlying profit before tax to £821.3m in its results for the year ending January 2016, Next warned that 2016 will likely continue to be rocked by global volatility. "2016 will be a challenging year with much uncertainty in the global economy," it said. "For Next, it makes it particularly important we remain focused on our core strategy of delivering long-term sustainable growth in EPS, investing in the business, improving the design and quality of our products and returning surplus cash to shareholders. "The year ahead may well be the toughest ...