Asos reports soaring sales despite fashion industry woes
Online fashion giant Asos has reported soaring sales despite the widespread struggles of the fashion industry.
The figures
Retail sales came in at £1.4bn, up 26 per cent, in the year to 31 August, with £603.8m coming from the UK.
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Pre-tax profit for the year came in at £32.7m, down 31 per cent.
Profits were hit by several “one-off” costs, such as the discontinuation of its in-country China operation, totalling £6.5m.
On an underlying basis, Asos said its profits were up 37 per cent to £63.7m.
Why it’s interesting
Asos’s results were released on the same morning Burberry reported a four per cent decline in revenue in the six months to 30 September.
The fashion industry as a whole is on its steepest decline for seven years, according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel, released yesterday.
Some £700m has been wiped off the value of the UK market since last year, the report found.
Asos said it was “looking forward… with confidence”, however. “We expect growth in sales to remain in the previously guided range of 20 per cent to 25 per cent.”
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What the company said
Chief executive Nick Beighton:
I'm pleased with progress in the business. The strength of these results reflects our unwavering focus on delivering great customer experience, supported by rigorous execution of our investments. We continue to target our growth opportunities, so we're accelerating investment in both logistics and technology. The pace at Asos is continuing in the new financial year, which we are looking forward to with confidence.