Less that a week after Boohoo announced a six-step supply chain recovery programme in the wake of national media reports about working conditions at suppliers, the e-commerce fashion house revealed a 45% increase in first-half turnover.
For the six-months to 31 August 2020 turnover rose to £816.5 million, up from £564.9 million in the same period in 2019. Pre-tax profit rose 51% from £45.2 million in H1 2019 to £68.1 million. It said it had seen an exceptional increase in new customer acquisition in Q1 during lockdown.
Boohoo acquired the online business of Oasis and Warehouse for £5.25 million in June.
Chief executive John Lyttle said that acquisition, alongside it acquiring the remaining minority interest in PrettyLittleThing, all supported its continued growth and profitability.
“The group has continued to gain market share in all key markets and we remain optimistic about the group’s prospects with the belief that it is well‐positioned to continue making progress towards leading the fashion e‐commerce market globally.”
Boohoo also said that capital expenditure, in the region of £80 million to £100 million, was expected to be higher than previously anticipated and reflected “the step‐up of investments in automation at its Sheffield facility, further expansion of existing automation at the Burnley facility and significant IT projects to support the growth of the business and improve efficiency”.
