HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - The Hamburg-based fashion retailer About You gained little ground before its takeover by Zalando. In the third fiscal quarter, which ended in November, the company generated sales of almost 559 million euros, up 1.3 percent on the previous year, as it announced on Thursday. Management explained this with the late timing of the Black Weekend, which will only be reflected in the figures for the following quarter. This refers to the period when companies lure customers with big promotions and discount offers, which usually results in high sales.
Adjusted for special items, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose by 1.7 percent to 20.1 million euros. All in all, About You was able to reduce its loss from 10.4 to 3.9 million euros.
For the current financial year, which ends in February, the management board continues to expect a revenue growth of one to seven percent. Adjusted operating profit is expected to reach 15 to 35 million euros.
In December, the Berlin-based fashion retailer Zalando announced its intention to take over About You. Zalando's bid of 6.50 euros per share values About You at a total of around 1.2 billion euros./stw/mis
