Asos says it will take ‘necessary actions’ after 18% drop in sales

Asos said it had cut its intake of new stock by 30% compared with last year, in a move to ‘facilitate the right sizing of stock’. Photograph: Dado Ruvić/Reuters

Asos has said it will take “necessary actions” to transform its fortunes after the fast fashion retailer’s first-half losses widened and sales fell by nearly a fifth.

The company reported an 18% drop in sales year on year for the first six months to 3 March. This contributed to an underlying pre-tax loss of £120m, widened from the £87.4m loss recorded during the same period a year earlier.