LONDON, Nov 1 (Reuters) – British online fashion retailer ASOS (ASOS.L) warned sales would fall again in 2024, hitting its shares, although the company said its turnaround plan was starting to take shape and growth would return the following year.
ASOS said sales would fall between 5% and 15% for the current 2024 financial year, missing forecasts for them to be flat, sending its shares down by 6% in early deals and continuing a difficult run for the stock which has lost 50% of its value in the last six months.
The company is led by chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte who took over in June 2022 aiming to revamp ASOS, which struggled following the end of the pandemic when people returned to shops, at the same time as operational problems took a toll on its performance.
Casting 2024 as a transition year, the group said that historic stock problems would continue to drag on sales and profitability, but for 2025 it said it expected to return to growth with core earnings margin around pre-COVID levels.
Shore Capital called the sales downgrade “worrying”.
For its last financial year, the 53 weeks to the Sept. 3, ASOS on Wednesday posted adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss of 29 million pounds, just behind a consensus forecast for a 24 million pound loss, reporting a week later than planned after auditor PwC needed more time.
Calamonte is focused on reducing the amount of stock ASOS carries and refreshing ranges more quickly, while cutting costs and improving its cash position, and he said on Wednesday ASOS would focus on its core fashion offering in 2024.
Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by William James and Tomasz Janowski
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