Online fashion retailer Boohoo has once again upped its full-year revenue guidance on the back of record sales in the four months to December across all of its brands.
In the period ended 31 December, revenues soared 93% to GBP228.2m (US$308.1m) from GBP114.3m a year earlier. The company said its revenue continued to grow across all geographies, while gross margin narrowed slightly to 52.5% from 53.1%.
Sales at the retailer’s namesake brand were up 25% on prior year comparative to GBP142.6m against a strong prior year comparative of 55%, while at Pretty Little Thing, revenue reached GBP73.8m, up 191% on prior year comparative.
Meanwhile, revenue at Nasty Gal totalled GBP11.9m, increasing month-on-month from start-up in March 2017.
Group revenue growth for this financial year is now expected to be around 90%, ahead of previous guidance of around 80%, which was raised from 60% in late September.
Boohoo raises FY guidance on “excellent” H1 progress
“We now expect group adjusted EBITDA margins to be between 9.25% and 9.75%, narrowing the range from the 9% to 10% as guided at our interim results,” said the company.
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By GlobalDataMahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, joint CEOs, added: We are delighted to report another set of strong financial and operational results, with record sales in the four months to December across all our brands. The Black Friday period was our most successful ever and we traded well throughout the period under review.
“Boohoo has continued to perform well, delivering strong revenue growth on increasingly challenging comparatives last year. Pretty Little Thing has continued to deliver exceptional results and Nasty Gal is making excellent progress in its first year. Our focus remains on the customer proposition: offering the best range of the latest fashion at affordable prices, coupled with great customer service.”
Charlotte Pearce, retail analyst at GlobalData, notes unsurprisingly Boohoo has proved to be a festive winner.
She adds: “The group stands out compared to online rivals such as Missguided and Quiz thanks to its innate understanding of its core shopper base, its low-priced on-trend product and its well-targeted marketing and social media, however it must not become complacent. While its relentless discounting activity needs attention, boohoo.com’s product and brand presence is clearly winning over 16-24 year old shoppers, ensuring it will continue to outperform in 2018, luring away dissatisfied shoppers from the likes of New Look, Miss Selfridge and H&M.”
