Asos lifted by fashion-hungry 20-somethings

Spending by fashion-hungry 20-somethings continued to boost Asos today after the online retailer delivered more bumper sales and profits.

The group, which sells 85,000 branded and own-label products, upped its revenues guidance to between 25% and 30% growth in this financial year. It shipped 49.6 million orders in the year to August 31, a 30% leap as underlying profits rose 26% to £80 million.

Chief executive Nick Beighton said it had been “another exceptional year, with the fastest growth for four or five years” and plans to spend £200 million to grow its infrastructure.

Asos is hiring 1500 people over three years as part of plans to significantly expand its London operation. Today’s 34% jump in revenues to £1.9 billion was driven by overseas growth of 47% to £1.2 billion after sterling weakness allowed it to cut prices.

Beighton added: “2017 was the first year with pretty strong economic headwinds for 20-somethings. That won’t change over the next 12 to 18 months. But... if you’ve got the right product at the right price point they will reward you.”

Shares in the AIM-listed stock still fell 51p to 5671p. Canaccord Genuity analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi cautioned “the cost of delivering a pure-play online fashion proposition on a global basis is high”.