Asos losses widen to £120m in H1 as sales fall 18%

Asos has seen its losses deepen to £120m in the first half of the year, a 32.6% increase compared to the same period last year, as sales fell by 18% to £1.5bn over the period. 

The dip in sales was attributed to planned discounting to clear old stock, a move that forms part of the group’s ongoing turnaround plan.

For the rest of the year, the brand said it expects a further decline of sales of 5% to 15% but a return to growth in the final quarter of FY24. 

The group also expects underlying earnings for the 2025 financial year to be “significantly higher” than FY24 and FY23 due to the higher gross margin following removal of old stock, higher full-price sales mix of flexible stock models as well as an ongoing transformation of the business. 

José Antonio Ramos Calamonte, chief executive officer, said: “At the beginning of this year we explained that FY24 would be a year of continued transformation for ASOS as we take the necessary actions to deliver a more profitable and cash generative business. Under our Back to Fashion strategy, we set out three priorities for the year – to offer the best and most relevant product, to strengthen our relationship with customers and to reduce our cost to serve. 

“We have delivered on each of these in the first half of the year, including right-sizing our stock ahead of target to drive our best first half cash performance since 2017 and seeing excellent results in our Test and React model, which is growing at pace. ASOS is becoming a faster and more agile business, and we are reiterating our guidance for the full year as we lay the foundations for sustainable profitable growth in FY25 and beyond.”

Alongside this announcement, the group confirmed the appointment of Dave Murray as the new CFO. Murray is set to join the company as the new CFO from 29 April, succeeding interim CFO Sean Glithero.

Murray has more than two decades of experience across a range of finance roles in the retail and ecommerce industries. He spent a large proportion of his career at Sainsbury’s and Amazon in the UK, before holding senior finance roles at Farfetch and, most recently, as CFO of MatchesFashion. 

Ramos Calamonte said: “I am delighted to be welcoming Dave to the managing team. His wide-ranging experience in the retail sector, notably in senior finance positions in several major retail, fashion and e-commerce businesses, will make him a valuable partner in the next phase of Asos’ journey to becoming a faster, more agile and more profitable business.”