- Non-executive director Nicholas Robertson sells £13.6m in Asos shares
- The fast fashion retailer struck a cautious tone at its full-year results last month
Asos (ASC) director Nicholas Robertson has disposed of £13.6m-worth of shares in the company, a few weeks after the fast fashion retailer revealed that it had more than quadrupled its pre-tax profits over its latest financial year.
Asos shares have marched a steep ascent this year in step with a surge in online clothes shopping, as coronavirus restrictions have limited shoppers’ ability and willingness to visit clothes outlets. The virus has prompted an apparently permanent shift in consumer attitudes, with nearly half of UK shoppers expected to buy most of their clothes online in the future, according to a Ernst & Young survey published last month.
This has translated into booming pre-tax profits for Asos, jumping to £142m over its 12 months to 31 August, compared with £33m at the same point last year. Retail sales rose by nearly a fifth to £3.17bn, and Asos said that it had started its current financial year in a solid position. It did, however, express a cautious outlook on consumer demand, citing likely disruption to the economic and lifestyle prospects of those in their twenties. As with other beneficiaries of this year’s trading conditions, Asos shares dropped on 9 November following Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine announcement, falling by a tenth.
Mr Robertson made three disposals between 5 and 9 November and remains a significant shareholder, retaining 3.34 per cent of the company. His third and final sale took place on the same day as the vaccine news. This timing looks to have cost Mr Robertson, who sold 148,000 shares priced at 4,370p, compared with 102,000 shares valued at 4,680p on 6 November. Asos declined to comment on his share sales.
There’s a mounting body of evidence that the conditions which have proven so fruitful for Asos will be around for some time, even as the prospect of a return to normal life edges closer. Nicholas Robertson retains skin in the game, and we don’t think his disposals haven’t undermined the Asos investment case. Buy at 4,340p.
Last IC view: Buy, 5,054p, 14 Oct 2020
| Buys | |||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| Phoenix Group | Andy Briggs (ceo) | 6 Nov 20 | 712 | 298,462 | Average price, purchased by PCA |
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| Boku | Charlotta Ginman | 9 Nov 20 | 117 | 14,877 |
| Sells | |||||
| Company | Director/PDMR | Date | Price (p) | Aggregate value (£) | Comments |
| ASOS | Nicholas Robertson | 5-9 Nov 20 | 4,539 | 13,617,213 | Average price |
| Luceco | Wayne Hill | 5 Nov 20 | 250 | 649,502 | |
| Renewi | Baukje Dreimuller | 9 Nov 20 | 25.66 | 10,264 |
