Online fashion retailer ASOS has estimated that a cyberattack cost it up to £8mn in lost sales, but insisted the disruption was temporary as it reported a return to annual profitability and signs that its long-running turnaround was beginning to deliver results.
The FTSE 250 group said the attack on October 6 had reduced gross merchandise value (GMV), a measure of total sales through its platform, by between 2 and 4 per cent. Trading in the UK was particularly affected.
With ASOS generating approximately £200mn in monthly sales, the company estimated that the incident had cost between £4mn and £8mn.
But executives sought to reassure investors that the damage was contained, saying trading had remained broadly flat since its financial year-end on August 30.
“The group has remained resilient with broadly flat GMV growth and our customer base continuing to grow, giving us confidence that this impact will be temporary,” the retailer said.
Chief executive Jose Antonio Ramos said the effect on sales had already “dissipated” during the early part of November, suggesting the company had avoided a prolonged disruption to customer activity.
The retailer has completed an internal investigation into the breach and said the attacker obtained access to basic customer information, including names and contact details. However, payment information and account passwords were not compromised, according to the company.
ASOS apologised to customers last month after sending a mobile phone alert warning that its online retail operation had been hacked.
Its initial investigation found that an “unauthorised party gained access to an Asos employee account by impersonating a trusted contact to obtain log-in credentials”.
The attacker then used those credentials to access information held on third-party platforms used by the retailer.
ASOS said: “Our website and app remained operational and safe to use throughout.
“The group has since implemented further measures to strengthen security across the business.”
As a precaution, the company temporarily suspended some marketing and customer relationship management activities immediately after discovering the breach, restoring its planned activity within two days.
The cyber incident comes as ASOS attempts to rebuild its financial performance after several difficult years marked by falling sales, cost pressures and a substantial restructuring of its operations.
Results for the year to August showed underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumping 39 per cent to £170.3mn. The company swung to a pre-tax profit of £24.4mn, compared with a loss of £281.6mn in the previous financial year.
Although like-for-like GMV fell 5 per cent across the year, ASOS said sales returned to growth in the final quarter, marking the first time in four years that the business had achieved quarterly GMV growth.
The improvement reflects efforts to reduce costs and simplify operations as management seeks to restore profitability without relying solely on a recovery in consumer demand.
The company said savings had been generated through reductions in staffing across support functions, tighter controls on indirect expenditure and efficiency improvements.
“These actions not only reduced the underlying cost base but also helped offset inflationary pressures experienced during the year,” it said.
Looking ahead, ASOS forecast underlying core profits of between £180mn and £200mn for the financial year ending in August 2027, suggesting further improvement from the £170.3mn recorded in 2025/26.
Investors responded positively, with shares rising 6 per cent in morning trading on Thursday as the results offered evidence that the company’s restructuring was gaining traction despite the security setback.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “Perhaps the long nightmare for ASOS is over.
“The fourth quarter recovery in gross merchandise value points towards a continued recovery.”
For ASOS, the challenge is now to turn early signs of recovery into sustained growth while rebuilding customer confidence following the breach. The latest figures suggest its financial restructuring is beginning to bear fruit, but the cyberattack is a reminder that operational and technological risks remain an additional burden as the retailer attempts to regain its footing.
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