Shares of Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo.com fell 9% amid concerns over margin pressures despite the retailer reporting that revenue rose 106% and profit jumped 41% for the six months to August 31.
Boohoo.com also upgraded its full-year revenue forecast.
The company’s shares have risen more than 150% in the past year.
The firm’s gross margin slipped to 53.3% from 55.3% “in line with planned investments in the customer proposition” as Boohoo.com made “significant investment in IT and warehousing.”
Group revenue for the half year increased by 106% to £262.9 million and profit before tax jumped 41% to £20.3 million.
Earnings per share rose 24% to 1.25p.
In its guidance, Boohoo.com said the group’s revenue growth is now expected to be around 80%, up from its previous guidance of around 60%.
Boohoo.com joint CEOs Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane said: “We are pleased to report excellent progress for the group in the first half of the year across all our brands.
“boohoo’s revenue has continued to grow across all geographies, with international growth being strongest as we continue to increase our market share overseas, and the newly acquired PrettyLittleThing brand has exceeded our growth expectations.
“PrettyLittleThing is fast gaining recognition amongst our target consumers as a highly desirable fashion brand in the UK, and its international growth is very encouraging, confirming its considerable potential.
“boohooMan has also performed very well, with high growth rates in the UK and overseas.
“Nasty Gal was rebuilt by us from virtually a zero base after acquisition in March this year and it is growing well month-on-month.
“The integration of the two new brands has been successful, adding diversity to our business whilst enabling us to draw upon our strengths in marketing, sourcing, operations and customer service to deliver profitable results and greatly increasing the group’s potential.
“We have continued to make significant investment in IT infrastructure and warehouse capacity to ensure stable and sustained execution of the group’s growth strategy and plans are progressing well for the next phase of longer term requirements for warehouse capacity.
“We will continue to invest in the customer proposition, further develop our brands and maximise the considerable opportunities that a global marketplace affords us.
“The strong performance in the first half-year and our expectations for the second half have given us confidence to raise guidance for the full year.”
