Rocket Internet gains as fashion unit shows improving financials
Sales at Global Fashion Group, an online apparel retailer in which Rocket owns 20%, rose 48% excluding currency effects to 456 million
Berlin: Rocket Internet SE rose as much as 3.1% in Frankfurt after one of its biggest start-ups reported rising sales and narrowing losses in the first half.
Sales at Global Fashion Group, an online apparel retailer in which Rocket owns 20%, rose 48% excluding currency effects to €456 million ($513 million), the company said Thursday. The adjusted loss before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization shrank to about €68 million from €121 million a year earlier.
“The operating momentum was strong in the second quarter, with continued growth and improving margins across all regions," Global Fashion Group said in a presentation on its website.
Competition in the online fashion business is heating up, with the likes of Zalando SE and Asos Plc seeking to boost sales while warding off competitors including Amazon.com Inc., whose fashion site is expanding in Europe. Global Fashion Group is targeting emerging markets, combining apparel e-commerce sites in Asia, Africa, South America and Australia modelled after European incumbent Zalando.
The retailer raised €330 million in July, valuing it at €1 billion, less than half what it was worth last year. The downround contributed to a first-half loss of €617 million at Rocket Internet, it said last week. Rocket Internet will report full first-half numbers on 22 September.
Rocket Internet rose 2% to €18.13 at 12:20pm in Frankfurt. Bloomberg
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