Asos chief executive Jose Antonio Ramos Calamonte says that his turnaround plan is working, after its first half pre-tax losses fell from £272.5million to £246.8million.

For the six months to March 3, Asos saw its revenues decline 18 percent to £1.5billion, as it moved to shift excess stock that built up, particularly during the pandemic, using discounts. Its pre-tax loss included £139.3million of costs linked to the mothballing of its Lichfield fulfilment centre.

However, a bullish Calamonte predicted that Asos will return to sales growth in the fourth quarter.

He said that products produced by Asos’s Test & React model, which sees new designs go from the drawing board to on sale within three weeks, are now among its top sellers and that they have gross margins of 58 percent.

He added that during the first half, tight cost control and better stock management had helped it produce its best cash generation in seven years.

Over the remainder of its 2023/24 financial year Asos should see stock levels return to pre-Covid levels, he said, while the following year, it should deliver annual revenue growth again and return its profit margins to pre-pandemic levels.

“Asos is becoming a faster and more agile business,” Calamonte said. “While we can be proud of what we’ve achieved so far, there is always more to do.”