A poor first quarter has prompted a shock profit warning from online fashion retailer Asos (ASC). A significant slowdown in trading during the “key month” of November meant revenues grew just 14 per cent, reflecting particularly sluggish progress in France and Germany.
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The UK fared slightly better, with UK sales up 19 per cent. However, a rampant promotional environment weighed on ‘rest of the world’ sales – down 3 per cent overall – forcing management to re-evaluate its expectations for the full-year. This meant severe cuts to analyst forecasts, with brokerage Numis lowering its FY2019 pre-tax profit figure by as much as 50 per cent to £53.5m.
