Boohoo’s on the catwalk again25 Sep 2020 14:02
Boohoo Group PLC’s (LON:BOO) interims on Wednesday come just days after the fast fashion giant vowed to address the governance issues raised by an independent review.
After its online-only business model proved defensive during lockdown, shares took a hit in July from concerns over hits environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, amid allegations over the use of sweated labour.
AJ Bell noted the questions raised by the allegations of poor pay and working conditions return to the core question of how Boohoo can make gross margins of 54% and operating margins of 8.7% (on an underlying basis) when its average selling prices are so competitive.
Investors will be interested in any further updates on that as well as sales growth in the second quarter after that 45% surge in the first quarter, to see whether the bad press deterred customers.
The market is also looking for trends in gross margin, which came to 54% in the fiscal year to February 2020, a slight drop on the year before, as well as trends in the adjusted operating margin, which fell very marginally to 8.7% in the year to February 2020.
Shareholders will also want to hear on plans for the AIM giant’s latest acquisitions, Oasis and Warehouse, and how they sit between the higher-end Karen Millen and Coast brands and the more fashion-forward boohoo, PLT and NastyGal.
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/930010/boohoo-to-take-spotlight-in-coming-week-alongside-greggs-ferguson-and-reach-as-macro-focus-turns-to-us-payroll-data-930010.html