Asos sales double

Online fashion retailer Asos has doubled sales for the year ended 31 March to £38.4 million. The company said it expects profits to be better than expected. The results appear stronger than they otherwise might due to the fire in its Buncefield depot that destroyed half of the company's stock last year, causing lower sales in the comparative year. Chief executive Nick Robertson, however, maintains that sales would have grown 80 percent even without the unexpected advantage and anticipates "another strong year of growth for the company."

Sales for the four weeks ended 27 April again jumped 102 percent, thanks mainly to young shoppers looking for summer wear as a result of the warm weather.

The company said pre-tax profits and exceptional items - which included a payment of £570,000 from insurers for the Buncefield fire and a charge of £239,000 for the closure of a subsidiary - would be "slightly" ahead of market expectations.