Next reported annual profit that met the top end of its guidance, driven by growth in online sales.The fashion retailer achieved an 11.8% rise in pre-tax profit to £695m in the year through January 2014, reaching the upper range of the company's forecast of £684m-700m.Underlying earnings per share grew by 23% to 366p. The group raised its dividend by 235 to 129p in total. "This is the fifth consecutive year that our earnings per share and ordinary dividend have grown by over 15%," the firm said. Results were boosted by Next Directory, the online and catalogue business, which saw sales jump by 12.4%, helping to narrow the gap with Next Retail sales which climbed by 1.7%. Total sales were up 5.4% to £3.7bn. The company remained cautious on the consumer spending outlook, saying "conditions are likely to remain far from buoyant and there are real risks to the sustainability of the current recovery".In the year head, Next expects pre-tax profit of £730-770m, which would represent a 5% and 11% increase, respectively. RD