Interim Results

ASOS PLC 29 November 2004 FOR RELEASE 29 November 2004 ASOS plc ('ASOS' or 'the Company' or 'the Group') (Leading online fashion retailer) INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2004 Financial Highlights * Group sales up 72% to £4.70m (2003: £2.74m) * Gross margin up to 49% (2003: 45%) * Group profit before interest, tax and amortisation of goodwill - £224,000 (2003: loss £168,000) * Profit before taxation £126,000 (2003: loss £283,000) * Earnings per share 0.18p (2003: loss per share 0.42p) * ASOS.com sales up 75% to £4.32m * Cash at bank - £1.26m Current Trading and Prospects * ASOS.com sales up 81% for the period 1 April 2004 to date compared to the same period last year * 419,000 registered users as at 26 November 2004 (369,000 as at 31 August 2004) * Confident that the business can continue to generate substantial sales and profit growth For further information: ASOS plc Nick Robertson, Chief Executive Tel: 020 7240 7070 Jon Kamaluddin, Finance Director Tel: 020 7240 7070 Beattie Financial Brian Coleman-Smith / Grace Marriner Tel: 020 7398 3300 John Moriarty Tel: 07971 402 224 Seymour Pierce Mark Percy / Ewan Leggat Tel: 020 7107 8000 Note to Editors: ASOS plc is an Internet Retail and Marketing Services Group, established in June 2000 and admitted to AIM in October 2001. Its principal business is ASOS.com, a leading online fashion and beauty retailer. A top five company in the UK clothing and apparel category (Source: Hitwise), ASOS.com has over 419,000 registered users. It offers 1300 lines across womenswear, lingerie, menswear, jewellery, accessories, footwear, beauty and gifting. Its primary customers are Internet savvy 18-30 year olds. ASOS plc ('ASOS' or 'the Company' or 'the Group') (Leading online fashion retailer) INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS TO 30 SEPTEMBER 2004 Chief Executive's Statement I am pleased to report continued strong sales growth for the Group and, as anticipated, our first profit at the half way stage. The Group made a profit (before interest, tax and amortisation of goodwill) of £224,000 compared to loss of £168,000 for the same period last year. Turnover rose by 72% to £4.70 million compared to £2.74 million for the same period last year. Earnings per share are now 0.18p (2003: loss per share 0.42p). Cash balances have grown from £1m at the March 2004 year end to £1.26m at 30 September 2004 even though we have raised stock levels from £0.52m to £1.07m. This is due to improved supplier terms. Sales for ASOS.com have been particularly strong and I am encouraged to see we are again achieving over 80% growth year on year as we head towards Christmas. Costs have risen in line with budget (+41%) as we expanded the buying team and increased our marketing efforts. Gross margin has been maintained at the 49%-50% level and returns of goods remain static at 18-19%. Product Range The last 6 months have been spent expanding our product offer and firmly establishing ourselves as a leading on-line Fashion and Beauty retailer. Our plan was to treble the number of product lines from 500 to 1500 in 18 months. I am pleased to inform you that we are well ahead of plan and currently (as at 23 November) offer over 1300 lines across womenswear, lingerie, menswear, jewellery, accessories, footwear, beauty and gifting. We intend to continue with this strategy and will look to double the product range again over the course of the next 12 months. Marketing & Site Traffic Recent initiatives including deals with Egg, HSBC and Wanadoo have significantly increased traffic to the site and new customer registrations. In October 2004, 750,000 unique customers visited ASOS.com - up from 530,000 in March 2004. As at 26 November, we had 419,000 registered users, up from 369,000 at the end of August. According to Hitwise, we are regularly the second most visited fashion site in the UK behind Next. Logistics The search for a new 70,000 sq ft warehouse continues. The move is still scheduled for Q1/Q2 next year. In the meantime, interim measures have been put in place to cope with the Christmas peak. The Market On-line retail in the UK continues to flourish. According to the IMRG there are now 16m Internet shoppers in the UK with women accounting for 56% of them and clothing is the fastest growing shopping category on the web with sales up fivefold in three years. A survey by ONS claim Britons are the world's second most enthusiastic users of Internet Shopping after the Danes and are expected to spend over £3 billion on-line this Christmas. Entertainment Marketing At the start of the year we committed ourselves to getting Entertainment Marketing (UK) Limited, our product placement business, back into a positive growth cycle. I am pleased to report that we have started this process. The range of services it provides has been broadened and additional new business resource taken on. Early signs are encouraging. Current Trading and Prospects I am confident that the business can continue to generate substantial sales and profit growth. Our task over the coming months is to build the enduring infrastructure that will support this growth and enable ASOS to compete at the highest levels. Nick Robertson Chief Executive 29 November 2004 Unaudited Profit and Loss Account for The Six Months ended 30 September 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited 6 Months to 6 Months to 12 Months to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2004 2004 2003 £'000s £'000s £'000s Turnover 4,695 2,736 7,541 Cost of Sales (2,292) (1,355) (3,711) ------------ ----------- --------- Gross Profit 2,404 1,381 3,830 Administrative Expenses (2,179) (1,549) (3,208) Amortisation of Goodwill (114) (114) (228) Impairment of Goodwill - - - ------------ ----------- --------- Operating Profit 110 (282) 394 Net Interest (payable)/ receivable 15 (1) 3 ------------ ----------- --------- Profit/(Loss) before Taxation 126 (283) 397 Taxation - - 270 ------------ ----------- --------- Profit/(Loss) after 126 (283) 667 Taxation ------------ ----------- --------- Basic Earnings/(Loss) per share 0.18p (0.42p) (1.02p) Fully Diluted Earnings/ (Loss) per share 0.17p (0.42p) (1.02p) Unaudited Consolidated Balance Sheet at 30 September 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited 6 Months to 6 Months to 12 Months to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2004 2003 2004 £'000s £'000s £'000s Fixed Assets Intangible Assets 1,363 1,591 1,477 Tangible Assets 170 112 116 ------------ ----------- --------- 1,532 1,703 1,593 Current Assets Stock 1,068 403 522 Debtors 674 314 780 Cash at bank and in hand 1,261 190 1,004 ------------ ----------- --------- 3,002 907 2,306 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (1,742) (980) (1,318) ------------ ----------- --------- Net Current Assets 1,260 (72) 988 ------------ ----------- --------- Total assets less current liabilities 2,792 1,631 2,581 ------------ ----------- --------- Capital and Reserves Called up share capital 2,464 2,379 2,379 Share Premium Account 2,975 2,975 2,975 Profit and Loss Account (2,647) (3,724) (2,773) ------------ ----------- --------- Shareholders funds 2,792 1,631 2,581 ------------ ----------- --------- Unaudited Consolidated Summarised Cash Flow Statement for the Six Months Ended 30 September 2004 Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited 6 Months to 6 Months to 12 Months to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2004 2003 2004 £'000s £'000s £'000s Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities 243 (21) 822 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance 15 (1) 3 Net cash outflow from investing activities (87) (29) (61) Net cash inflow from Financing 85 216 215 ------------ ----------- --------- Increase/(Decrease) in cash 256 164 979 ------------ ----------- --------- Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash inflow from operating activities £'000s Unaudited Unaudited Unaudited 6 Months to 6 Months to 12 Months to 30 September 30 September 31 March 2004 2003 2004 Operating profit/(loss) 110 (283) 394 Amortisation charge 114 114 228 Depreciation charge 34 30 58 (Increase)/Decrease in stock (546) 209 90 (Increase)/Decrease in debtors 106 22 (174) Increase/(Decrease) in creditors 424 (113) 226 ------------ ----------- --------- 243 (21) 822 ------------ ----------- --------- Notes to the Accounts 1. The results for the six months ended 30 September 2004 have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards and on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the audited accounts of the Company for the 15 months ended 31 March 2004. 2. The interim accounts for the six months ended 30 September 2004 are unaudited and do not constitute statutory accounts in accordance with section 240 of the Companies Act 1985. The financial information for the six months ended 30 September 2003 and the 12 months ended 31 March 2004 has not been audited but has been extracted from the audited financial statements for the 15 months ended 31 March 2004 upon which the auditors gave an unqualified report and which do not contain a statement under Sections 237 (2) or 237 (3) of the Companies Act 1985. A copy of those financial statements has been filed with the Registrar of Companies. 3. Basic and fully diluted loss per ordinary share has been calculated on the Group's profit for the period attributable to shareholders and on the weighted number of ordinary shares in issue : 68,903,256 ( 30 September 2003 : 63,333,857 31 March 2004 : 66,196,857). 4. The Interim Report will be posted to all shareholders of the Company and copies will be available upon application to ASOS plc, 1 Kingsway, London WC2B 6XD. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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