Fashion chain Boohoo defied weak consumer confidence and reported a jump in its first-half pretax profit today.
The gains came on the back of strong demand for brands such as PrettyLittleThing and Nasty Gal, while Boohoo sales were also helped by celebrity campaigns.
Boohoo has been an online success story with millions of active customer accounts across brands, drawing in more younger consumers who shop on their mobile phones and share fashion tips through social media.
The social-media friendly company, which has teamed up with television celebrities and models, said it has six million followers on Instagram and three million Facebook likes.
The online retailer, which raised its full-year revenue forecast earlier this month, said pretax profit rose 83% to £45.2m for the six months ended August 31.
"Other retailers may suffer from weak consumer confidence and hot weather, but Boohoo has posted an acceleration in total sales growth, but the surprise came from UK multi-brand sales growth," Jefferies analysts said of today's results.
The figures beat the brokerage's expectations.
The company's revenue rose 43% to £564.9m, with PrettyLittleThing growing in France and the US while Nasty Gal, whose revenue more than doubled, performed well in the U.S.
AIM-listed Boohoo's shares are up nearly 60% for the year.
