ASOS PLC (LSE:ASC) will be updating the market with a trading statement for the four months ended 31 December, completing a year that saw the shares plunge over 70%.
Investors no doubt will be interested in how the online clothing retailer fared during the festive period, and whether it was able to provide some form of relief - though some analysts are sceptical.
“Its customer base is facing a significant decline in discretionary spending power just as ASOS passes on product and delivery inflation,” said Stifel.
“Hence, we forecast that a profit turnaround will be delayed until 2024, as management seeks to put the business on a sounder financial footing.”
An alternate view, from Sophie Lund-yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, was that ASOS is “selling products right along the price scale, [so] was well set up well to offer something for everyone this Christmas”.
Shareholders will also be keen to hear any further input on the group’s turnaround plan, implemented by chief executive José Antonio Ramos Calamonte in October and seeing it write off somewhere between £100mln and £130mln worth of excess stock.
Ramos said the company will focus on delivering four actions, comprising “renewing its commercial model and improving inventory management; simplifying and reducing its costs profile; ensuring a robust and flexible balance sheet; reinforcing the leadership team and refreshing the culture”.
With Christmas typically being a time of bumper sales for retailers, Lund-Yates said she was among those “keen to see” if any of these measures are working yet.