UK Small Caps

LONDON (ShareCast) - Online fashion retailer ASOS (LSE: ASC.L - news) produced another year of eye-popping growth, with sales doubling and profits up 93%, though it is now seeing slower growth rates.

Sales in the year to March jumped by 104% to £165m from £81m, while pre-tax profits jumped by 93% to £14.1m from £7.3m.

The number of active customers rose by 68% year on year to 1.2m at the end of May 2009 with international sales up 303% to £32.2m.

However, sales growth fell sharply in the 13 week to 26 June to 52%, which compares with 95% over the same period the previous year.

Chief executive Nick Robertson told ShareCast the lower sales growth was due to the company taking stock planning measures that accounted for a more difficult retail climate.

"We didn't approach the new year with the same gusto as we did in the past," he said.

"I'm not seeing any green shoots."

He pointed out that the age range ASOS targets, 16 to 34, was not as resilient as previously thought and is hit particularly hard by rising unemployment.

While cautious on the near-term outlook ASOS also outlined plans to expand overseas, with international sales now accounting for 19% of total revenues, compared with 10% in 2007/08.

The top five-performing countries outside the UK were Ireland, Denmark, Sweden France and the US.

Robertson told ShareCast that the company would continue serving foreign markets from its UK warehouse for the next two years and then consider which countries it was worth setting up infrastructure in.