The British online retailer ASOS has issued an update of its forecasts for the first half of the 2025 financial year before the publication of its financial results. The company expects a significant improvement in its profitability despite a “persistent volume deleverment”.
Adjusted sales growth is forecast to 13 percent, while the result adjusted for special effects before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) is expected to achieve £ 34 million (around 41 million euros), which lies both values on the expectations of the analyst: inside. The adjusted EBITDA margin from ASOS is expected to be 2.6 percent.
The strong performance was supported by returning to the growth of the company’s full price sales, which in turn was favored by the newly introduced ‘Test & React’ model, which now makes up more than 15 percent of ASOS’s own brand sales. The model enables the retailer to give up orders in small batches so that they can be produced faster, and also enables faster reorder.
The publication of the ASOS forecast was published shortly after the announcement that the Danish businessman and bestseller boss Anders Holch Povlsen increased his participation in the company from 27.1 percent to 28 percent. If the participation ultimately reaches 30 percent, according to the British market regulations, it would be obliged to provide a formal takeover offer.
Holch Povlsen belongs to the family behind the holding company Heartland, which in September 2024 acquired a majority stake in the brands Topshop and Topman, which was formerly belonging to ASOS. His interest in ASOS has triggered speculation among analyst: inside whether he is striving for a possible takeover of the company.