Asos boss José Antonio Ramos Calamonte is confident the retailer will meet its profit expectations despite it posting an 18% drop in first-half sales.
The fast fashion retailer said it had made “good progress” against the second stage of its turnaround plan as it revealed its sales had continued to plummet in the 26 weeks to 3 March.
However, it reassured investors this was “broadly in-line with guidance” following initiatives to improve profitability and “right-size” stock levels.
The retailer noted that its test and react model, which shortened lead times between design to site in 2 to 3 weeks, now represents around 5% of own-brand sales.
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Asos ended the half with a ”robust cash balance” of over £330m and as a result, its guidance remains unchanged.
It is expected to report a full-year sales decline of between 5% and 15%, positive adjusted EBITDA, inventory back to pre-COVID levels, and positive cash generation.
Calamonte said: “Asos is becoming a faster and more agile business, aided by the incredible work of our teams to speed up all of our processes to deliver the fashion, quality and prices that our customers want, when they want it.
“I’m excited by the performance of our new collections, while we have also made great progress in monetising inventory that built up over the pandemic and in improving the core profitability of our operations.
“We have reconfirmed our guidance for FY24 as we lay the foundations for a more profitable, cash generative business from FY25 and beyond.”
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