Curse of Asos strikes again as profit forecast and share price tumble

Global problems hamper the online retailer after seemingly scooping up Philip Green's empire in triumph

So much for the idea that lockdown shopping habits had permanently propelled the profits of online specialists into a new stratosphere. Asos, after a knockout year of 194m of pre-exceptional profits, says it will fall back to 110m-140m next time, several rungs below City forecasts.

Nick Beighton, the chief executive, is out. And the share price, down 13% to 24.08 on Monday, stands at less than half its level at the start of this year, which was a moment when Asos had seemingly demonstrated the triumph of the online brigade by scooping up the remnants of Sir Philip Green's empire.