German online fashion retailer Zalando raises full year guidance

(Reuters) - German online fashion retailer Zalando SE <ZALG.DE> increased its full year earnings guidance on Wednesday, as the coronavirus pandemic prompts more people to shop online.

The company said it expects to grow gross merchandise volume (GMV) by 20% to 25% and revenue by 15% to 20% in 2020, up from its guidance from May 6 when the company had expected GMV and revenue growth of 10% to 20%.

Europe's biggest online-only fashion retailer said it expects adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 250-300 million euros for the full year.

The company said that based on preliminary figures for the second quarter, it has grown GMV by 32% to 34% to 2.67-2.71 billion euros and group revenues by 26% to 28% to 2.01-2.05 billion euros, adding it expects a second quarter adjusted EBIT in the range of 200-220 million euros.

The company's financial results for the second quarter will be released on Aug. 11.

Zalando said last month it expected a bigger increase in sales and operating profit in the second quarter than analysts were forecasting, adding it had seen a strong increase in the preference for digital shopping amid the pandemic.

Before the coronavirus pandemic struck in Europe, Zalando had forecast sales growth of 15-20% for 2020, down from 20.3% in 2019, and GMV growth of 20-25%.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)