Online retailer Asos to return furlough cash

Online fashion retailer ASOS is to return furlough cash to the UK Government after it saw sales rise during lockdown.
Asos.Asos.
Asos.

Asos saw its sales rise 10 per cent in the four months to June 30, benefiting from trading through the coronavirus lockdown while store based rivals were forced to shutter shops.

Total retail sales rose from £894m to £983.3m.

The group, which is focused on the 20-something demographic, said it was cautious on the short to medium term outlook on demand but forecast full-year pre-tax profit towards the top end of market expectations, despite material incremental Covid-19 costs.

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Nick Beighton, CEO of Asos, said: "This has been a tough time for all businesses, but we have remained focused on doing the right thing for our people and our customers and making sure that we emerge from the current crisis as a stronger and better organisation.

"I am particularly proud of the resilience, flexibility and creativity the ASOS team and our business partners have shown.

"We have learnt a lot and adapted quickly, and ASOS finishes the period with improved underlying profitability.

"While we remain cautious about the consumer impact of Covid-19 looking forward, we are on track to deliver strong year-on-year profit growth and to return to positive free cash flow for the full-year ."

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