New Debenhams owner Boohoo posts 37% jump in profits amid online surge          

In September, Boohoo accepted all the recommendations of an independent review that found major failings in its supply chain in England after newspaper allegations about working conditions and low pay in factories in the Leicester area.

British online fashion retailer Boohoo reported a 37% jump in annual core earnings, benefiting from the rise in digital shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic and weathering the negative publicity over its supply chain failings.

In September, Boohoo accepted all the recommendations of an independent review that found major failings in its supply chain in England after newspaper allegations about working conditions and low pay in factories in the Leicester area.

The group, which sells clothing, shoes, accessories and beauty products aimed at people aged 16 to 40, pledged to fix the problems. In March, it revealed a major consolidation in its list of British suppliers. 

Boohoo made adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of £173.6m in the year to the end of February, exceeding analysts' average forecasts and the £126.6m made in the 2019-2020 financial year.

Unlike rivals that rely on stores which had to shutter for several months during coronavirus lockdowns, Boohoo was able to trade throughout, helping push revenues up 41% to £1.75bn. 

"We've had extremely strong customer retention through the period. That's very reassuring," finance chief Neil Catto told Reuters. "But I think customers appreciate all the work we've done on the Agenda for Change and the progress we've made there." 

In January, Boohoo purchased the Debenhams brand out of administration for £55m and in February bought the Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Burton brands from the administrators of Arcadia for £25.2m. 

Boohoo forecast revenue growth for the 2021-2022 financial year of about 25%, with the newly-acquired brands expected to deliver five percentage points of this growth. It said trading in the first few weeks of the new financial year had been "encouraging" as pandemic restrictions eased. 

But it cautioned that the economic outlook remained uncertain.