Zalando today said strong trading in the fourth quarter of 2014 helped it to record its first full-year profit.
The pan-European online fashion platform, which trades in the UK as Zalando.co.uk, reported revenues of €2.2bn (£1.6bn) in 2014, 26% up on the €1.8bn (£1.3bn) it recorded the previous year. Group profit of €82m (£60m) represented a profit margin before earnings and tax of 3.7%. Last year the margin stood at
-6.2%.
In the fourth quarter alone, Zalando reported a 21% rise in group revenues to €666m (£495m), with adjusted earnings before interest and tax of €66m (£49m), corresponding to a margin of 9.9%.
The company, which sells clothing and shoes for children, men and women and enables third-party retailers to sell their wares through its platform, now expects sales to grow by between 20% and 25% in 2015.
“Our 2014 performance proves that Zalando’s business model is sustainable and can achieve significant margins,” said Rubin Ritter, management board member. He added: “Our focus in the coming years will be to make the right investments for continued long-term growth and value creation and not to maximise our short-term margin.”
Last month Zalando, which sells 1,500 brands to 14.1m active customers, of whom 43% visited the site via mobile in the third quarter of 2014, launched its partner programme in the UK, inviting British brands and retailers to sell through its platform as it looks to become more relevant to local shoppers. Across Europe, more than 170 retailers already sell through it in eight markets including Germany and France.
