ASOS' international growth continues to attract investors

As online fashion retailer ASOS reports full year results, Sheridan Admans, investment research manager at The Share Centre, explains what they mean for investors.

"This morning ASOS published results that were slightly ahead of the average of analyst forecasts. Group revenue rose by 46% however Q4 sales slowed. UK sales rose by 7% and international retail sales more than doubled, up 103%, aided by the launch of websites in Australia, Spain and Italy. International sales now account for 59% of Group sales.

"The recent British Retail Consortium report showed that the number of people shopping on the high street fell by 6.4% in the last three months. In light of ASOS' strong results this adds to our opinion that an online presence is proving more competitive in the prevailing economic headwinds.

"Looking ahead we are confident in the company's ability to grow its revenue and profits, as well as establishing itself in the regions in which it operates. However, in the short to medium term slowing economic growth, the problems facing Europe and the inability of Western nations to get the unemployed back to work are likely to have a significant impact on ASOS' growth.

"We continue to recommend investors drip feed into weakness on ASOS based on its growth potential. However, investors need to be comfortable with the swings this share price could face in light of our worries over the European debt crisis and slowing consumer growth."