Boohoo has cut over 1,000 jobs in the year to the end of February, as net debt increased by £100.9m from £5.9m in net cash the year previously.

Revenue at the firm decreased by 17% in this period, reaching £1.46bn, having dropped by the same percentage points in its first half results.

Boohoo stated that this reflects its "increased focus on profitability and difficult market conditions", while its gross profit dropped by 16% to £756.1m.

Operating costs dropped by 16% year-on-year, totalling £699m, which it said was driven by the actions taken under the ongoing cost savings programme.

In the past year, the fashion retailer cut 377 jobs in its administration sector and 734 jobs in distribution, making savings of £29.8m in payroll costs year-on-year.

With this in mind, Boohoo has increased its brand strategy with focus on its five core brands of Boohoo, BoohooMan, PLT, Karen Millen and Debenhams, in order to “generate demand across a diverse global customer base".

This is reflected in the performance of the group's core brands, with performance improving from a decline of 9% in H1 to a decline of 4% in the second half of the year.

Group chief executive officer at Boohoo, John Lyttle, said: "We have a highly loyal customer base and throughout the year we remained focused on maintaining our position as an industry leading, fashion-forward group with brands that deliver on-trend, high quality fashion at great value prices. The strength and diversity across our core brands means the group is well placed to serve a global customer base across fashion, beauty and home.

"Despite difficult market conditions, caused by high levels of inflation and weakened consumer demand, we made continued progress in the year. I am particularly encouraged with the ongoing trend of improved performance in our core brands which saw gross merchandise value down 9% in H1 24 and down just 4% in H2 24 demonstrating increasing momentum and validating our strategy to focus on these brands which are much loved by our customer base."

Looking forward, the group said it has taken a "significant step to position the group for the sustainable, profitable growth" in the last financial year, aiming for GVM growth in the 2025 financial year.

Boohoo is confident it will reach a 6.8% medium term EBITDA margin target and added that it "remains on track" to deliver annualised cost savings of £125m across cost of goods, supply chain and overheads in the 2025 financial year.

However, analysts are not as confident.

Equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, Guy Lawson-Johns, added: "Boohoo's full-year results were a painful read for investors. Revenue declined at high double-digit rates across all regions, including an 18% in the US, which is seen as the group's pathway to major growth.

"For now, it remains a struggling company with a tarnished reputation, reflected in the group's valuation, which has come down significantly over the last few years.

"Executing its back-to-growth strategy hasn’t been easy. And, as part of the drive for profitability, Boohoo has heavily invested in expanding capacity abroad where there's greater room for growth. International markets, especially the US, hold the key to the group's future growth, but extensive investment has so far yielded weak results. And with customer KPIs continuing to trend in the wrong direction, it doesn’t look like a miraculous recovery is around the corner."

---