ASOS profits drop in ‘disappointing’ year
ASOS has said its performance in the year to 31 August was disappointing after work to increase its operational capability in the EU and the US was more challenging than expected.
Pre-tax profit came in at £33.1 million compared to £102 million in the previous year, although total sales increased by 13% to £2.7 billion.
Nick Beighton, ASOS chief executive, said: “This financial year was a pivotal period for ASOS, where we have invested significantly and enhanced our global platform capability to drive our future growth. Regrettably this was more disruptive than we originally anticipated. However, having identified the root causes of our operational issues, we have made substantial progress over the last few months in resolving them.”
Retail sales rose by 13% in the period. This included 15% growth in the UK and respective uplifts of 12% and 9% in Europe and the US. Sales in the rest of the world increased by 12%.
ASOS said new customer acquisition and traffic in the UK was disappointing in the early part of the year following poor trading over Black Friday where the company said it looked uncompetitive. The second half saw stronger traffic and an improvement in the number of monthly active customers as ASOS became more proactive on promotions.
Looking ahead, Beighton said: “Our focus now shifts to ensuring that we enhance our capability to drive an improved customer experience and leverage the benefits from the investments we have made. With over 60% of our revenue coming from international customers and a strong global logistics platform with capacity to grow, we are well positioned to take advantage of the global growth opportunity ahead of us.”
