Asos plans to extend debt and share placing as Covid-19 hits sales

Total sales at Asos plc grew by 21 percent to 1,597 million pounds (1,967.5 million dollars). The company said in a statement that gross profit increased 17 percent but gross margin declined 170bps versus the prior year. Profit before tax increased 653 percent to 30.1 million pounds (37 million dollars), while basic and diluted earnings per share increased by 667 percent to 27.6p and by 664 percent to 27.5p respectively. The company further said that demand has been significantly impacted since containment measures introduced with group sales down 20 percent to 25 percent in most recent three weeks of trading. The company plans to secure 60-80 million pounds 12-month extension to RCF with covenant adjustments to ensure additional operational flexibility through the crisis and proposes placing of up to 18.8 percent of issued share capital to protect against a prolonged downturn and to position business for long-term growth.