British online fashion retailer Boohoo forecast sales growth of 50% in its new financial year after a doubling of profit in 2016-17, resisting signs from other retailers that shoppers are turning cautious on spending.
Recent official data, industry surveys and company comments have indicated that Britons are starting to feel the strain of rising prices after last year's vote to leave the European Union sent the pound plunging.
However, annual results from Boohoo today showed that some bright spots, particularly in value retailing, remain.
Boohoo, which sells own-brand clothing, shoes and accessories online to a core market of 16-24 year-olds, has been one of the best performing UK stocks over the last year, almost quadrupling in value.
"Trading in the first few weeks of the 2017-18 financial year has made a promising start," said Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane, Boohoo's joint chief executives.
The comments echoed those from Primark, the discount fashion retailer, last week.
The company expects group revenue growth in 2017-18 approaching 50%, including growth from the acquisitions of the PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal brands at the beginning of this year.
A profit margin of 10% was also forecast.
"The acquisitions represent a step change in the size, structure and operation of the group," the joint CEOs said.
Boohoo and online rivals such as ASOS are winning share from traditional high street retailers, benefiting from the increasing popularity of smartphone e-commerce and their extensive use of social media.
Boohoo said it made a pretax profit of £30.9m in the year to February 28 - ahead of analysts' average forecast of £28.7m, according to Reuters data, and £15.7m made in 2015-16.
Revenue rose 51% to £294.6m as Boohoo's customer base grew 29% to 5.2 million, while international growth, particularly in the US, exceeded management expectations.
Boohoo floated at 50 pence a share in 2014 but the stock was hammered by a profit warning the following year. Its shares have since recovered strongly and are up 36% so far this year.
