Fashion retailer Boohoo (LON:BOO) has seen profits almost double in the year to February 28 due to strong growth in the UK and US, which both ‘exceeded expectations’.
Pre-tax profits soared by 97 percent to £30.9 million while revenues increased by 51 percent to £294.6 million.
“It has been a momentous year for us,” said joint chief executives Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane.
“The Boohoo brand has achieved outstanding revenue growth and increased profitability margins during the year. We continued to grow strongly in the UK, our largest market, whilst international growth exceeded our expectations, particularly in the USA,” they said.
The key to the retailer’s success is their ability to trial items on their website, something that is not possible for stores on the high street. This allows online stores to ‘test and repeat’, whilst having a constant flow of new clothes on the store.
Boohoo have also announced plans to acquire Nasty Gal and rival fashion website Pretty Little Thing.
“Both brands have huge potential and the acquisitions represent a step-change in the size, structure and operation of the group.” the chief executives said.
“We are confident that our expertise combined with the strength and following of our new complementary brands will greatly enhance the group’s future growth and profitability.”
Boohoo will expand Pretty Little Thing, which has more than a million active customers.
In 2014, Boohoo was valued £560 million on the stock market flotation. It is now worth around £2 billion.
“Trading in the first few weeks of the 2018 financial year has made a promising start and we are excited about the prospects of our development into a multi-branded business.
“We expect group revenue growth approaching 50 percent over 2017, which includes growth from the recent acquisitions, and a group Ebitda margin of approximately 10 percent.” the chief executives added.