Interim Results for the six months ended 28 February 2017
Interim Results for the six months ended 28 February 2017
Summary results
| £m1 | Six months to 28 February 2017 | Six months to 29 february 2016 | Change | CCY3 Change | |
| Group revenues4 | 911.5 | 663.1 | 37% | 31% | |
| Retail sales | 889.2 | 644.6 | 38% | 31% | |
| UK retail sales | 340.8 | 289.5 | 18% | 18% | |
| International retail sales | 548.4 | 355.1 | 54% | 42% | |
|
Gross profit |
440.1 |
|
324.0 |
36% |
|
|
Retail gross margin |
47.0% |
|
47.4% |
(40bps) |
|
|
Gross margin |
48.3% |
|
48.9% |
(60bps) |
|
|
Profit before tax |
27.3 |
|
23.9 |
14% |
|
|
Diluted earnings per share |
26.3p |
|
22.8p |
15% |
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents |
154.3 |
|
135.9 |
14% |
|
1All numbers subject to rounding throughout this document. 2For the six months to 29 February 2016, numbers have been restated to remove the results of the discontinued operation in China. 3Constant currency is calculated to take account of hedged rate movements on hedged sales and spot rate movements on unhedged sales. 4Includes retail sales, delivery receipts and third party revenues
Highlights include
- Retail sales grew strongly at +38% on a reported basis and +31% on a constant currency basis
- Solid UK growth of +18% in a more promotional market
- Accelerated international performance with reported sales growth at +54% (constant currency: +42%) aided by the reinvestment of the FX tailwind
- Retail gross margin down 40bps on prior year in line with plan
- Continued engagement from our customers with active customers5 +29%, average basket value +3% and average order frequency6 +4%
- Total orders shipped were 23.3m, +33% year on year
- Transition to Eurohub 2 warehouse on track, US warehouse plans progressing
- Strong cash position of £154.3m; supporting growth and enabling business investment
5Defined as having shopped in the last twelve months as at 28 February 2017. 6Calculated as last twelve months’ total orders divided by active customers
Guidance
- Medium term reported sales growth guidance remains unchanged at c.20-25% p.a.
- Current financial year reported sales growth guidance revised to c.30-35%
- Full Year PBT anticipated to be broadly in line with market consensus7
- Capital expenditure guidance remains unchanged at £150-170m for the current financial year
7Company compiled PBT market consensus for FY 2017: range £72m-£84.5m, mid-point £78.25m, mean £80.6m
Nick Beighton, CEO, commented:
“These are a strong set of results, showing great progress across the business. International growth of 54% has been excellent and with the Rest of the World segment a stand out performer.
Customer acquisition, up 29%, takes our active customers to over 14m. We passed the 5m active customer mark in the UK, where we have shown solid sales growth of 18% in a more promotional market. We’ve accelerated our significant infrastructure and technology projects which remain on track, and Eurohub 2 went live in March.
Given the current momentum we are seeing, ASOS is making good progress towards its ultimate goal of becoming the world’s no. 1 destination for fashion-loving 20-somethings.”
Investor and Analyst Meeting
There will be a meeting for analysts that will take place at 9.30am today, 4 April 2017, at Numis Securities, 10 Paternoster Row, London EC4M 7LT. Photo ID and security checks will be required so please ensure prompt arrival. A webcast of the meeting will be available both live and following the meeting at www.asosplc.com. Please register your attendance in advance with Guy Scarborough at Instinctif Partners on either 020 7457 2047 or guy.scarbourough@instinctif.com.
Forward looking statements:
This announcement may include statements that are, or may be deemed to be, "forward-looking statements" (including words such as "believe", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "anticipate" and words of similar meaning). By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty since they relate to future events and circumstances, and actual results may, and often do, differ materially from any forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements in this announcement reflect management's view with respect to future events as at the date of this announcement. Save as required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements in this announcement, whether following any change in its expectations or to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this announcement.
Background note
ASOS is a global fashion destination for 20-somethings. We sell cutting-edge fashion and offer a wide variety of fashion-related content, making ASOS.com the hub of a thriving fashion community. We sell over 85,000 branded and own-label products through localised mobile and web experiences, delivering from our fulfilment centres in the UK, US and Europe to almost every country in the world.
We tailor the mix of own-label, global and local brands sold through each of our eight local language websites: UK, US, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Australia and Russia.
ASOS’s websites attracted 127 million visits during February 2017 (February 2016: 106 million) and as at 28 February 2017 it had 14.1 million active customers1 (29 February 2016: 10.9 million), of which 5.0 million were located in the UK and 9.1 million were located in our international territories (29 February 2016: 4.3 million in the UK and 6.6 million internationally).
1Defined as having shopped in the last twelve months as at 28 February 2017
