LONDON, Jan 19 (Reuters) - British clothing retailer Next said on Tuesday a "procedural oversight" relating to thepayment of dividends meant it had infringed UK company law andit would have to convene a meeting of shareholders to remedy thesituation.
The issue relates to the payment of one ordinary interimdividend and three special interim dividends in 2014 and 2015.
Next said that whilst it had sufficient reserves to pay thedividends at the time that they were made, the law required thisto be demonstrated by reference to interim accounts filed atBritain's Companies House prior to payment.
It said those interim accounts were not filed with CompaniesHouse until after the dividends had been paid and after thelapse had been identified, resulting in a technical breach ofthe UK Companies Act 2006.
Next said there was no change to its financial outlook, thematter had no impact on its ability to continue to returnsurplus cash to investors, its past accounts would not need tobe restated and no fines or other penalties had been incurred.
However, it has convened a Feb. 10 meeting of shareholdersto seek approval for a resolution to "address the situation andput all parties back in the position they were intended to behad the full technical requirements of the Act been compliedwith at the time the relevant distributions (dividends) weremade."
Earlier this month, Next reported disappointing sales in therun-up to Christmas, blaming unusually warm weather.
(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter)
Next (NXT)