ASOS– Retail, Trading Statement, Tuesday 26 September22 Sep 2023 17:59
How this could affect Boohoo.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown:
“ASOS has had a rough ride lately. With net debt and cash flows both rising earlier this year, it had to resort to raising around £80m of new funds by issuing new equity shares. This isn’t usually a good sign, as it waters down existing shareholders’ stake in the company. However, the cash injection has provided some wiggle room to execute the ongoing transformation, so we’ll be looking out for early signs that it’s bearing fruit in next week’s trading update.
With revenue declining at double-digit rates in the third quarter, profitability rather than growth is now the order of the day at ASOS [LON:ASC]. Resources are being reallocated away from the US, where extensive investment has so far yielded weak results. Costs are getting stripped back too, with the group on track to hit its cost-saving target of £300m last we heard. These actions should stem the financial bleeding to some degree, so keeping a close eye for more guidance on where full-year profits are expected to land.”