ACCELERATION

Online fashion retailer Asos saw a jump in revenues in the final four months of 2017, boosted by international sales and the draw of same-day deliveries at its UK business.

In its latest trading update, the company reported a 28 per cent rise in total group revenue to £808.4 million for the period to 31 December, helped by “exceptional performance” in the UK where retail sales climbed by just under a quarter to £300.9m, both at constant currencies.

The division benefited from speedier deliveries and the retailer’s “try before you buy” offer, which lets customers order products to try at home and only pay for what they decide to keep, rather than having to seek a refund.

Asos said its UK performance was “exceptional” despite a “challenging market”. International sales, meanwhile, rose by nearly a third over the period, with EU sales surging 34 per cent and its US operations booking a 28 per cent increase. Sales across the remainder of its global business were up by nearly a third.

0 The firm’s UK division also benefited from its same-day delivery offer

ANALYST LAITH KHALAF

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: “I’m pleased to report a strong performance during the period. We achieved an exceptional performance in the UK, whilst momentum in international sales continued.

“We acquired 2.6 million active customers year on year and saw encouraging movements across all key customer [key performance indicators].

“Velocity in our technology programmes continued, with a record number of releases. Our customer proposition was further enhanced in the UK with the launch of Try Before You Buy and Asos Instant, our same-day delivery proposition.”

The total number of orders placed in the period jumped 30 per cent to 20.2 million, while the average frequency of orders – the total orders per customer over the past 12 months – was up 8 per cent.

The number of visits to its website also grew in December to 174 million, up from 139 million a year earlier.

Asos confirmed its full-year guidance for 2018, but said

“Asos is making retail look easy by turning over almost a third more sales… [it] is now bigger in terms of its market capitalisation than Marks & Spencer.”