Boohoo reports strong first half growth
Boohoo increased its group revenue by 50% to £395.3 million in its first half after seeing strong growth across all markets.
In the six months to 31 August the online fashion retail group’s pre-tax profit climbed by 22% to £24.7 million.
UK revenue was up 43% in the period while international sales increased by 62%. International sales now account for 41% of group revenue.
Sales at the Boohoo fashion retailer grew by 15% to £209 million as the brand benefited from particularly strong growth in northern Europe.
Revenue at Pretty Little Thing increased by 132% to £168.6 million while sales at Nasty Gal rose by 111% to £17.7 million.
Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, Boohoo group joint chief executives, said: “Our group results for the first half year show yet another strong performance, delivering record sales and profits. All of our brands performed extremely well across all territories as we continue to gain market share. We achieved market-leading growth in all markets, with Rest of Europe and the USA being particularly pleasing. Growth in the UK, our largest market, remains very strong.”
Looking ahead, Boohoo said group revenue growth for the year to 28 February 2019 is expected to be between 38% and 43%, which is up from its previous guidance of 35% to 40%.
During the period the group relocated a distribution centre for Pretty Little Thing as part of plans to develop a distribution network capable of generating £3 billion of net sales.
In a separate announcement, Boohoo also said that David Forbes has advised the board that he intends to step down as a non-executive director of the company at the end of October. While Boohoo is due to commence a search for his replacement imminently, non-executive director Sara Murray will step into the role of senior independent director on his departure.
Peter Williams, Boohoo non-executive chairman, said: “On behalf of the board, I’d like to thank David for his significant contribution to boohoo. David’s counsel as senior independent director during the period following the company becoming public has been invaluable. The board has benefitted from his considerable corporate and governance experience during this time.”
Earlier this month, the group announced that it had appointed John Lyttle as chief executive. He will join the group from Primark in March next year.
