SHARE OF THE WEEK: Investors hoping for improvement at Asos

Investors will be hoping for signs of improvement at Asos after a year of woe.

The online fast fashion firm has struggled under the weight of increased input costs as customers have reined back their spending.

Chief executive Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte, who took up the top job in June 2022, has insisted that Asos can ‘achieve far more’.

It swung to an annual loss of £32m last year after margins were hammered by supply chain inefficiencies amid ‘macroeconomic challenges’.

As shoppers returned to stores on the High Street after Covid, Asos has been hit by customers sending back more parcels or choosing not to order online.

The retailer, favoured by Gen Z shoppers, posts its first-half results on Wednesday.

Shareholders will look at how measures such as cutting surplus stock levels, winding down storage facilities and job losses are going, according to analyst Susannah Streeter at Hargreaves Lansdown.

She said: ‘Poor weather dented sales on the High Street in March, but online sales were more resilient which could bode well for performance, with shoppers overall a bit keener to spend than expected back in the autumn.’

Analysts expect a loss, similar to last year, of around £16m.

But investors will hope it will offer signs Asos is turning a corner and can swing back to profit in full-year results.

AJ Bell analysts have forecast an annual profit of £60m, against last year’s £32m loss.