Interim Results for the six months ended 28 February 2019
Interim Results for the six months ended 28 February 2019
Summary financial results
| £m1 | Six months to 28 February 2019 | six months to 28 February 2018 | Change | CCY2 Change |
|
Group revenues3 |
1,314.5 |
1,158.1 |
14% |
12% |
|
Retail sales |
1,281.3 |
1,131.3 |
13% |
11% |
|
UK retail sales |
481.5 |
414.5 |
16% |
16% |
|
International retail sales |
799.8 |
716.8 |
12% |
9% |
| Gross profit | 639.9 | 569.4 | 12% | |
| Retail gross margin | 47.4% | 48.0% | (60bps) | |
| Gross margin | 48.6% | 49.2% | (50bps) | |
| Profit before tax | 4.0 | 29.9 | (87%) | |
| Diluted earnings per share | 3.6p | 29.2p | (88%) | |
| Net (debt)/cash | (37.9) | 37.7 | (201%) |
|
1All numbers subject to rounding throughout this document, 2Constant currency is calculated to take account of hedged rate movements on hedged sales and spot rate movements on unhedged sales, 3Includes retail sales, delivery receipts and third-party revenues
Results summary
- Total sales grew at +14%
- UK sales rose by +16%, and international sales by +12%
- ASOS Design +5%, now annualising c.£1 billion; 3rd party brand revenues +18%,
- Retail gross margin down 60bps
- PBT £4m, after c.£24m (H118: c.£11m) temporary transition costs
- Customer engagement: active customers1 +16%, average basket value -2%, order frequency5 +4%
- Total orders placed 34.4m, +15% year on year
- US Hub operations stabilised
- Net debt position of £37.9m, enhanced RCF facility of £220m
Guidance
- No change to FY19 reported sales, EBIT guidance; c.15% and c.2% EBIT margin respectively
- No change to FY19 capex c.£200m, guiding to c.£150m in FY20
- Year end net debt of c.£50m, returning to free cash flow positive in FY20
Nick Beighton, CEO, commented:
“We grew sales by 14% despite a more competitive market. ASOS is capable of a lot more. We have identified a number of things we can do better and are taking action accordingly. We are confident of an improved performance in the second half and are not changing our guidance for the year.
We are nearing the end of a major capex programme. Whilst this has inevitably involved significant disruption and transition costs, the global capability it now provides us gives us increased confidence in our ability to continue to capture market share whilst restoring profitability and accelerating free cash flow generation.
Global online fashion is a growing, £220bn+ market. We now have the tech platform, the infrastructure, a constant conversation with our growing customer base who love our own great product and the constantly evolving edit of brands we present to them. We believe that ultimately there will only be a handful of companies with truly global scale in this market. We are determined that ASOS will be one of them”
Investor and analyst meeting:
There will be a meeting for analysts that will take place at 9.30am today, 10 April 2019, 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 Tom Berger at Instinctif Partners on either 020 7457 2834 or tom.berger@instinctif.com.
1Defined as having shopped in the last twelve months as at 28 February, 5 Calculated as last twelve months’ total orders divided by active customers
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 on ASOS
ASOS is a global fashion destination for 20-somethings, selling all the freshest styles complemented by exclusive content, making ASOS.com the hub of a thriving fashion community and giving our audience the confidence to be whoever they want to be. ASOS sells over 85,000 branded and ASOS Brand products through localised app and mobile/desktop web experiences, delivering from fulfilment centres in the UK, US and Europe. ASOS curates a mix of our in-house designed labels, ASOS DESIGN, ASOS EDITION, ASOS WHITE, ASOS 4505 and Collusion with global and local brands sold through our own channels to deliver a locally relevant offer. Our ground-breaking propositions help bring our amazing products to almost every country in the world and we serve customers globally with increasingly tailored local experiences: relevant languages, payment methods and delivery and return options. You can currently shop ASOS in over 200 markets, in eight languages, using an ever greater number of different payment methods, with hundreds of local deliveries and returns options from pick up and drop off networks to Next-Day Delivery. We aim to give all our global customers a truly frictionless experience.
ASOS’s websites attracted 171.6m visits during February 2019 (February 20181: 148.0m) and as at 28 February 2019 had 19.2m active customers2 (28 February 2018: 16.5m), of which 6.2m were located in the UK and 13.0m were located in international territories (28 February 2018: 5.5m in the UK and 11.0m internationally).
1Restated visits, previously reported number 156.9 million, 2Defined as having shopped in the last twelve months as at 28 February
