ASOS have dropped quite significantly in the past week for no particular reason and I view this as the perfect opportunity to invest as I can see them bouncing right back up to the 5.50p mark in the next 2-3 weeks. STRONG BUY!!

Cynic, say , when did you make last time your psychiatric evaluation?

News

price unfazed 200 pts up since then

Societe Generale reiterates buy on ASOS, target raised from 4666p to 4906p

the mighty but incoherent champion has been very very quiet on here of late ..... perhaps he has been gloomily watching his profits - if there ever were any - dribble down the drain

with the ceo/founder now jumping ship, i wonder if there are yet more unpleasant surprises in the offing .... however, i'm surprised sp has only dropped rather less than a quid to just over £29

just as a side note, sp was £70 in early 2014 with certain quarters hollering that £80 was imminent and certain

StockMarketWire.com
Online fashion group ASOS reports pre-ta profits of £47.5m for the year to the end of August - up 1% on last time.

Group revenues were up 18% at £1,150.7m with UK retail sales up 27%; International retail sales up 11% (at constant currency 17%).

The group had 9.9 million active customers at 31 August, up 13% on prior year and gross margins were up 20bps at 49.9%.

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: "I'm pleased with these results, which show encouraging progress. We have delivered profit before tax of £47.5m, on track with our plans. Group revenue increased 18% to £1.15bn, with UK retail sales performing well up 27%, and international retail sales improving as the year progressed. We ended the year with a cash position of £119.2m.

"We are attracting more customers with a continued expansion of our delivery proposition and mobile offerings. Customer engagement has been exceptionally strong, with increases in average order frequency, basket size and value. We now have 9.9m active customers, up 13%.

"During the year we invested £50m in our warehouse capability and our technology, and we are investing a £80m in the new financial year.

"Trading year to date has started well and preparations are at an advanced stage for peak season. We currently anticipate sales growth for the new financial year of c.20%, gross margin investment of up to 50bps and a similar EBIT margin to the financial year just ended. We remain focussed on achieving our next staging post of £2.5bn sales."

StockMarketWire.com
Numis has upgraded its recommendation in respect of on-line fashion retailer ASOS (LON:ASC) to buy from add on the back of company's final results for the year to 31 August 2015.

Specifically, the broker said: "After a tough FY14, FY15 has seen ASOS stabilise and, benefiting from pricing investments and proposition improvements, clearly regain momentum.

"Retaining our DCF-based TP of 4250p, and with the shares having fallen 24% since we last published in July, we move our recommendation from Add to Buy."

Separately, Liberum Capital repeated its buy recommendation, commenting that the FY results were inline with expectations.

Meanwhile, Canaccord Genuity stuck with its less upbeat hold call.

Target prices were left unchanged at 3,300 pence and 3,250 pence, respectively.

Jefferies International today reaffirms its hold investment rating on ASOS Plc (LON:ASC) and raised its price target to 3600p (from 3500p).

Ok, sp 3450.50... 2015 is done - not that bad and not utterly phenomenal... lets see what is 2016. happy new year.:)

a little snippet for you all ......

Asos Plc has pulled the plug on its Chinese venture after failing to lure customers away from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
The British online fashion retailer will close its Chinese distribution center, Shanghai office and local website after failing to turn a profit since beginning operations in the country in 2013, the company said in a statement Thursday. The retreat will involve a charge of as much as 10 million pounds ($14 million).



does this presage a rerating to something sensible?
worth pondering

as far as i can tell, next numbers should be due in about a week

StockMarketWire.com
Online fashion group ASOS posts pre-tax profits of GBP21.2m for the six months to the end of February, 18% up on last time.

The group reports a strong performance in strategic markets - UK +25%, EU +31%, US +34% (in constant currency) - and it now has 10.9 million active customers, up 17% on a year agp.

Group revenues were up 25% at GBP667.3m and retail slaes rose by 24% to GBP648.6m.

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: "We've had a good start to the year and I'm pleased with progress on a number of fronts. These results demonstrate improving momentum in the business with group sales up 21% (25% in constant currency). Our UK sales remain strong, up 25%, and our international customers have responded well to our continuing price investments with sales up 18% (24% in constant currency).

"Particularly encouraging is the 17% growth in our active customers to 10.9m, with benefits from our investment in our technology and logistics delivering 21% growth in visits to our sites and growth in average order frequency, basket value and conversion.

"We delivered profit before tax of £21.2m, growth of 18%, in line with our expectations. I'm pleased to confirm that we are on track to achieve our previously stated sales and margin guidance for the full year."

Cantor Fitzgerald today reaffirms its hold investment rating on ASOS Plc (LON:ASC) and raised its price target to 3300p (from 3000p).

StockMarketWire.com
Online fashion retailer ASOS co-founder Nick Robertson has sold 1,305,000 ordinary shares at 3,525 pence apiece raising GBP46m, gross.

EDIT: Apparently due to his rather expensive divorce settlement:
"It is our understanding (Shore Capital) that this decision reflects additional liquidity needs for Mr Robertson, regarding recent developments in his personal life, rather than a change in confidence with respect to the prospects of the business. His remaining shareholding will be subject to a 90-day lock-up period following the completion of the place."

StockMarketWire.com
Online fashion group ASOS reports strong retail sales growth of 30% (+26% on constant currency basis) in the four months to 30 June.

ASOS says this was underpinned by its continued price and proposition investments.

UK growth remains strong at +28% and the group has seen further acceleration across the US, EU and ROW segments; overall International retail sales increased by 31% (25% on constant currency basis).

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: "As anticipated, our retail gross margin for the period is down c.180bps, approximately 40% of which (c.70bps) is due to moving our main sale forward one week into this financial period, with the balance as a result of continued price investment.

"We now anticipate full year sales growth at the upper end of the 20-25% range. Our retail gross margin guidance of up to 50bps of investment remains unchanged and we remain confident in delivering current market PBT expectations for the year.

"Given the increased momentum within the business combined with our strong financial position, we will maintain our successful programme of reinvestment to take advantage of the opportunities currently available to us.

"We will release our results for the year to 31 August 2016 on 18 October."

Peel Hunt today reaffirms its buy investment rating on ASOS Plc (LON:ASC) and raised its price target to 5000p (from 4000p).

Barclays comment today:
"A straight forward and reassuring set of 3Q numbers from ASOS today with a sales beat across all its geographies and positive outlook from management. 3Q sales were up 30% a material beat to Instinctif consensus of +23% and our estimate of +24%. Management raised official FY guidance to the top end of a +20-25% sales growth range which will likely be well received by investors today. The gross margin was down 180bps due to timing of sales into 3Q and continued price investment, but it was actually 20bps better than feared. We would expect the gross margin to improve into 4Q. Management kept the FY gross margin guidance of up to -50bps intact. What is particularly optimistic for the future is the fact that active customers grew by 24% in 3Q, an acceleration vs. +17% in 2Q. Active customers can be a good leading indicator for future growth. We continue to find ASOS a very appealing growth proposition with very positive momentum and a beneficiary of a weak sterling. Management’s priority remains strong growth over any margin progression at this stage, a message that they have kept clear in several occasions recently. We reiterate ASOS as our Top Pick."

JP Morgan Cazenove today reaffirms its overweight investment rating on ASOS Plc (LON:ASC) and raised its price target to 4550p (from 4000p).

StockMarketWire.com
Online fashion group ASOS reports retail sales up 26% to £1,403.7m in then year to the end of August (2015: £1,112.2m) driven by strong product, delivery improvements and further price investments across its major markets.

the Group gross retail margin decreased by 30bps to 48.5% (2015: 48.8%) as price investments in the US, Europe and RoW were offset by a higher full price mix.

Delivery receipts grew 35% aided by higher next-day delivery usage and the expansion of Premier globally. We also saw an increase of 29% in third-party revenues which had a positive impact on gross margin, which at 50.0% (2015: 50.1%) was only 10bps down compared to last year.

Continuing profit before tax and exceptional items grew by 37% to £63.7m (2015: £46.4m), as investments in delivery proposition, marketing and depreciation were offset by warehouse automation efficiencies and the non-recurrence of last year's £4.9m fixed asset write-offs.

The Group discontinued its in-country China operation which incurred an operating loss before tax of £3.6m up to the point of closure in May 2016 (2015: £5.2m) and one-off exceptional closure costs before tax of £6.5m, of which £4.4m was non-cash. Previously planned investment in China was re-deployed elsewhere.

In September 2016, the Group settled its trademark infringement disputes. This resulted in a one-off exceptional legal settlement of £20.9m (including associated legal fees) representing full, final and global settlement of all outstanding litigation.

Importantly this settlement now allows us to more actively target the significant and growing sportswear market.

The settlement will be paid in the new financial year. Within the comparative results for the year to 31 August 2015, one-off business interruption reimbursements of £6.3m in respect of a warehouse fire in 2014 are also reported as an exceptional item.

Chief executive Nick Beighton said: "I'm pleased with progress in the business. The strength of these results reflects our unwavering focus on delivering great customer experience, supported by rigorous execution of our investments. We continue to target our growth opportunities, so we're accelerating investment in both logistics and technology. The pace at ASOS is continuing in the new financial year, which we are looking forward to with confidence."

In here today.