UK's ASOS posts 18% drop in first-half sales

LONDON (Reuters) - Online fashion retailer ASOS posted an 18% drop in sales in its first half, but said it was on track to meet guidance for sales to decline by 5-15% over the full-year, as its plan to revive the business takes shape.

Since the pandemic the British company has struggled to grow and cast 2024 as a transition year, with the focus on speeding up processes, launching new collections and getting rid of a build up of excess stock.

For the 26 weeks to March 3, ASOS said sales declined by 18%, broadly in line with its expectations. It stuck to guidance for the sales decline to improve over the 12 month period.

It also repeated guidance that it would post positive adjusted core earnings (EBITDA), positive cash generation and would return inventory to pre-COVID levels.

"I'm excited by the performance of our new collections, while we have also made great progress in monetising inventory that built up over the pandemic and in improving the core profitability of our operations," CEO José Antonio Ramos Calamonte said in a statement on Tuesday.

Shares in ASOS have lost over half their value during the last year. The company has a market capitalisation of 413 million pounds ($522 million).

($1 = 0.7906 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)