Online fashion giant Asos will repay the money it claimed under the Treasury's furlough scheme after revealing its sales hit £1billion over lockdown.
The fast-fashion company said it's on track to meet its annual forecast, after sales rose 10% in the four months to June 30, when store-based rivals were forced to close shops due to coronavirus restrictions.
In April, Asos raised £247million in new equity to shore up its finances. The furlough repayment is expected to be about £1.8million.
Asos said its customer base increased 16% to 23million over three months, and that the number of items sold rose 15%.
"We are on track to deliver strong year-on-year profit growth and to return to positive free cash flow for the full-year," Asos chief executive Nick Beighton, said.
As a result, Asos said that it would be returning the cash it received under the government's furlough scheme after a "better than initially-expected full-year performance".
"This has been a tough time for all businesses, but we have remained focused on doing the right thing for our people," Beighton added.
It did not confirm how many workers it had furloughed under the government's job retention scheme, which pays 80% of workers' salaries up to £2,500 per month.
The announcement came as luxury fashion brand Burberry announced a slump in sales and 500 job cuts, and Dixons Carphone warned of major drop in sales.
Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: "It's clear that the online retailer is a pandemic winner.
"However, with a deep recession looming, and the hopes of a V-shaped recovery seemingly dashed by yesterday's economic growth figures Asos, as well as the rest of the retail sector, will have to prepare for a squeeze on consumer spending.
"This is where the current goes calm before the waters turn choppy."
* This story has been edited after publication to clarify the amount being repaid is in the millions not billions.
