By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- Sosandar (LON:SOSS) shares rose sharply at the open on Tuesday after the up-and-coming women's fashion group reported a "very strong" start to its 2023 fiscal year, with sales rising over 80% from a year earlier.
Sosandar said revenue had hit £10.4 million, in line with management's expectations and putting it on track to beat market expectations for the full year of £45.2 million. It said trading had been solid both on its own site and through third parties, which include Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS), Next, and John Lewis.
It also said that it continued to be profitable in the quarter, the third such quarter in a row, although net cash at the end of the period was down by nearly £1 million to £6.1 million at the end of June.
The group, which targets an audience that has grown out of 'fast fashion' or no longer feels served by it, said it saw "particularly strong sales of workwear, occasion wear and holiday clothes."
Sosandar said that return rates, which have caught out some fashion names in recent months, have been running in line with expectations. As such, the company noted, costs "continue to be carefully managed."
Sosandar's stock, which had a blistering first half to 2021, has cooled off a lot in recent months, amid fears that it could be caught out by the reversion of customer shopping habits back to their pre-pandemic pattern.
By 03:05 AM ET (0705 GMT), the stock was up 6.8%, rising for the first time in six days. It's still nearly 50% below its August peak, however.