ASOS posts latest profits surge

Online fashion retailer ASOS.com posted a 93 per cent increase in year-on-year profits today, reflecting the website’s continued robustness in the face of recession.

The increase came on top of a 52 per cent increase on sales in the 13 weeks to June 26 compared to the same period in 2008. ASOS founder and chief executive Nick Robertson called it "an exceptional performance, given the current economic climate."

ASOS made a full-year pre-tax profit of £14.1m. Sales touched £165.4m, up from £81m last year. Sales were given a boost by overseas activity, which trebled to £32.2m during the last reporting period.

"I've always outperformed [IMRG figures]," Robertson told Reuters. “What it's showing is that for a period of time at least [the industry] has started to slow, but that's as likely to go up again as it is to go down again," he said.

ASOS is held up by analysts as a beacon of profitability in a fashion sector hit hard by the economic downturn in recent years. Today’s figures follow 104 per cent annual growth announced in March this year.

The company said sales at the website, which targets trendy 18-to-34 year-olds, had been boosted by growing demand for jumpsuits, boyfriend blazers and marble wash denim.

Shares in ASOS, which is listed on the AIM exchange, have soared ever since it joined the market and are up more than 50 per cent this year. The company is currently valued at around £265m.

ASOS has bucked a generally downward trend in consumer spending since 2007. The company targets younger people who are less likely to own property or have money commitments. It has also benefitted from the general march of consumers online.

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By News Desk  on   Jun 29,2009

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ASOS    online. online business    online shopping    online shop    Nick Robertson   

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