Online fashion firm ASOS shrugged off Brexit fears for retailers as it upped its full-year sales outlook after cheering "strong" trading.
The group posted a pick-up in sales growth for the four months to June 30 - up 28% in the UK at £203.1 million and 25% to £297.4 million across its burgeoning international arm with currency movements stripped out.
ASOS, which stands for As Seen On Screen, said the robust third-quarter performance meant sales for the full year were now expected at the top end of its forecasts for between 20% and 25% growth.
Annual profits are set to be in line with expectations, it added, as its focus on lowering prices will weigh on profit margins.
Its update bucks mounting woes among its high street rivals, with signs that sales slowed in the run-up to the EU referendum vote and have been hit by poor April and early summer weather.
The latest British Retail Consortium-KPMG survey showed that like-for-like sales fell by 0.5% in June compared with a year ago, triggered by weaker clothes sales.
Marks & Spencer also last week revealed that its beleaguered clothing arm suffered its worst sales performance for more than a decade as it cut back on promotions amid a "weak market".
ASOS, which targets fashion-conscious 20-somethings, said sales growth ramped up further across its overseas sites, which now account for more than half of group turnover.
It said US retail sales surged by 45% with exchange rate effects stripped out, while sales grew by 22% on a constant currency basis across the EU.
But the group's profit margin fell after it moved its main clearance sale into the third quarter, as well as continuing to cut prices.
Some analysts are predicting ASOS will capitalise on the recent plunging value of the pound, as 60% of its customers and sales come from overseas.
The group signalled further moves to keep prices down.
Chief executive Nick Beighton said: "Given the increased momentum within the business, combined with our strong financial position, we will maintain our successful programme of reinvestment to take advantage of the opportunities currently available to us."
ASOS booked a double-digit hike in half-year profits in April, up 18% to £21.2 million in the six months to February 29.
But the first half results showed ASOS counted the cost of its failed Chinese venture, with interim losses of £2.7 million, following losses of £3.1 million a year earlier.
It previously said it would take a £10 million hit from the closure of the operation, which shut down in May, with the group now trading through ASOS.com rather than a local website.
ASOS shares leapt 5% higher after the update.
Mr Beighton said the firm's push to boost mobile and tablet sales helped it weather the slowdown seen among high street rivals in the run-up to the Brexit vote.
He also confirmed he would keep cutting prices, thanks to the expected boost from the weak pound, which will make clothes cheaper for overseas shoppers.
"Around 55% of our customers are non-UK and so in the short term the exchange rate weakness will give happy consequences for our customers," he said.
He added that the extra overseas trade will offset any hike in costs from the weak pound, such as cotton, which is sourced in US dollars.
Liberum analysts said ASOS had reported a "very strong update" and hiked their full-year profit forecasts by 5% to £62 million.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here