Asos anticipates profitability improvement for H1, Heartland owner ups stake

British e-tailer Asos has issued an update on its forecasts for the first half of fiscal year 25 ahead of the release of its financial results for the period due April 24, 2025. The company is expecting its profitability to significantly improve despite what it said was a “continued volume deleverage”.

Its adjusted sales growth is projected to be 13 percent, while its adjusted EBITDA is forecast at 34 million pounds, placing both ahead of consensus. Asos’ adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to be 2.6 percent.

The strong performance has been aided by a return to growth for the company’s full-price sales, backed in turn by its newly applied Test & React model, which now makes up more than 15 percent of Asos’ own-brand sales. The model allows the retailer to place orders in small batches so they can be produced faster, as well as enabling quicker reorders.

The release of Asos’ forecast came shortly after the announcement that Danish businessman, Anders Holch Povlsen, increased his stake in the company from 27.1 percent to 28 percent. If the stake ultimately amounts to 30 percent, he would be required to make a formal bid according to UK market regulations.

Holch Povlsen is part of the family that owns Heartland, a holding company that acquired a majority stake in the formerly Asos-owned brands Topshop and Topman in September 2024. His interest in Asos has sparked analyst speculation regarding whether he is eyeing a potential takeover of the company.