Asos half-year loss narrows as it keeps full-year guidance

(Alliance News) - Asos PLC on Thursday reported lower first-half revenue but a narrower loss, as ...

Alliance News 23 April, 2026 | 10:54AM
Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

(Alliance News) - Asos PLC on Thursday reported lower first-half revenue but a narrower loss, as the online fashion retailer said trading remains in line with expectations and left its full-year guidance unchanged.

The London-based online fashion retailer said pretax loss narrowed to GBP137.9 million in the 26 weeks to March 1 from GBP241.5 million a year earlier.

Revenue fell 14% to GBP1.12 billion from GBP1.30 billion, while gross merchandise value declined 9% to GBP1.17 billion from GBP1.28 billion.

Shares in Asos rose 5.3% to 237.00 pence in London at midday on Thursday.

Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 51% to GBP64.0 million from GBP42.5 million, while adjusted loss before tax narrowed to GBP52.4 million from GBP69.5 million.

Asos said the first half showed "significant progress and momentum", with improving trends in key areas including UK trading, womenswear and new customer growth.

The company said new customer growth in its top four markets returned to positive territory on a six-month rolling basis, while UK gross merchandise value outperformed the group with a 5% decline year-on-year.

Adjusted gross margin improved by 330 basis points to 48.5% from 45.2%, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of year-on-year improvement. Asos said this reflected benefits from its commercial model, higher full-price sales, supply chain efficiencies and growth in flexible fulfilment.

Chief Executive Officer Jose Calamonte said: "The first half of 2026 has seen significant progress and momentum for ASOS."

He added: "Together, we are taking decisive steps towards re-establishing ASOS as a leading online fashion destination."

Asos said it has taken steps to manage inflationary pressures and supply chain disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East.

"We have taken proactive actions to help mitigate inflationary impacts and supply chain issues arising from the conflict in the Middle East. We continue to monitor developments closely and are continuously reviewing a range of levers to protect profitability whilst ensuring seasonally relevant product arrives to meet customer demand," the company said.

It also said it has started the process to pursue refunds related to around GBP7 million in tariffs paid in the first half.

Looking ahead, Asos said current trading is in line with expectations, with gross merchandise value trends showing "further sequential improvement" in the third quarter to date. New customer growth for the group was 9% in March, the first monthly increase since September 2021.

The company reiterated its financial 2026 guidance, continuing to expect adjusted Ebitda of GBP150 million to GBP180 million, gross margin improvement of at least 100 basis points, and broadly neutral free cash flow.

By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
ASOS PLC 249.00 GBX 10.67

About Author

Alliance News

Alliance News provides Morningstar with continuously updating coverage of news affecting listed companies.

© Copyright 2025 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures