23rd Jan 2020 08:21
(Alliance News) - Online clothing retailer ASOS PLC on Thursday said a "better than expected" Black Friday trading period contributed to a double-digit sales climb in the first four months of its financial year.
ASOS shares were 9.9% higher at 3,324.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
In the period to December 31, total retail sales rose 20% to GBP1.07 billion from GBP895.0 million the year before.
Revenue, which includes delivery fees and third-party income, was also up 20% year-on-year, climbing to GBP1.10 billion from GBP917.9 million.
"The actions we took to rebuild customer momentum during the peak trading period delivered a better than expected sales performance largely driven by the Black Friday weekend," ASOS said.
UK sales rose 18% year-on-year to GBP408.9 million and US sales were 23% higher at GBP139.3 million. Sales in the EU arm climbed 21% year-on-year to GBP332.5 million.
Sales in the Rest of the World segment were 23% higher at GBP194.2 million.
Chief Executive Officer Nick Beighton said: "ASOS has delivered an encouraging start to the year. Strong customer acquisition activity supported by robust operational performance has driven good momentum in all our markets. As we said in October, the focus for this year is to further enhance our capabilities and leverage the investments we have made. It is still early in the year and much remains to be done, but we are encouraged by the progress we have made so far."
The company added its total orders rose 20% during the period to 27.7 million, a reflection of the "robust operational performance through peak period at all our distribution centres".
This is a far cry from last July when Beighton explained "the change from the major overhaul of infrastructure and technology in our US and European warehouses has taken longer than anticipateed", hurting stock availability and sales.
The firm at the time was in the process of overhauling warehouse operations in Berlin and Atlanta.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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