Boohoo.com raises full year sales forecast after solid first quarter

Boohoo.com, an online fashion retailer, raised its full year sales guidance on Wednesday after reporting a 41% year-on-year rise in first quarter revenue to £58.2m.

In a trading update the British retailer said it now expects annual sales growth of between 25% and 30%, compared to an initial estimate of about 25%, following a solid first quarter.

Boohoo.com sells men’s and women’s clothes at cheap prices primarily to the UK, but has increased its presence abroad. International sales account for 36% of total revenues.

UK sales were up 42% year-on-year to £37.4m in the first quarter and sales from the rest of the world were up 37% to £10.1m in the first quarter.

Boohoo.com had 4.2m active customers in the period, a 30% rise year-on-year.

The company said they were reducing the marketing department to curb expenditure and were expanding their warehouse programme by adding three mezzanine floors and a new building for future capacity requirements.

Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, Boohoo.com joint chief executives, said they also expect full year EBITDA margins to remain in line with last year.

"We are encouraged by our performance in the first quarter, with revenue growth in all geographic regions and slightly ahead of our expectations.

“We continue to broaden our product range, increase our fashion appeal and offer incredible prices. Active customer numbers, order frequency, basket size and conversion continue to climb.”