17th Jun 2020 09:57
(Alliance News) - boohoo Group PLC on Wednesday reported a "very strong" performance in the first quarter despite "these unprecedented and difficult times".
In addition, the Manchester-headquartered company said it bought the online businesses and all associated intellectual property of two brands, Oasis and Warehouse, for GBP5.3 million in cash from Hilco Capital Ltd.
Oasis and Warehouse are UK-based brands targeting fashion-forward shoppers and are a complementary addition to boohoo's portfolio of brands, it said.
In their most recent financial year ending February, Oasis and Warehouse generated direct online revenue of GBP46.8 million in aggregate.
Turning back to trading, the online clothing retailer said revenue in the three months to the end of May totalled GBP367.8 million, up 45% year-on-year, with strong underlying growth across boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal.
boohoo said its newest brands - MissPap, Karen Millen and Coast - continued to trade strongly, having successfully integrated onto the company's platform last year.
Despite the uncertain backdrop, boohoo said it delivered a strong gross margin performance, up 60 basis points year-on-year to 55.6%.
Areas such as loungewear and athleisure have performed well, the company highlighted, as customer buying habits adapted to a stay-at-home lifestyle.
Looking ahead, boohoo said it expects to deliver another year of strong profitable growth, and ahead of market expectations.
Revenue growth for the current financial year ending February 2021 is anticipated to be 25%, with an adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margin of 9.5% to 10%.
Boohoo noted that this guidance reflects its expectation for an ongoing period of consumer uncertainty and likely promotional intensity in markets in which it operates.
In the current financial year, the company said it will continue to invest into the infrastructure and operations to support its future growth ambitions, with capital expenditure expected to be in the region of GBP60 million to GBP80 million.
"Whilst there is a period of uncertainty within the markets in which we operate, the group is well-positioned to continue making progress towards leading the fashion e-commerce market globally," said Chief Executive John Lyttle.
AIM-listed boohoo shares were trading 9.4% higher in London on Wednesday at 426.05 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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