The online fashion specialist Asos more than quadrupled profits as its mainly twentysomething shoppers snapped up comfy casual wear and skincare products during lockdown. It added 3 million more shoppers to its active customer base, taking the total to 23.4 million, and said it had made a solid start to the year. However, Asos shares lost more than 10% as the group said it was cautious about the outlook for the business because of the impact of the pandemic and the potential consequences of Brexit on its young shoppers. The shares closed down 553p at £48.25, but still up from £33.73 at the turn of this year and compared with little more than £10 at the time of the plunge in markets in March. Nick Beighton, the chief executive, added: “Life for our twentysomething customers is unlikely to return to normal for quite some time.” In a statement the company said: “The normal pattern of social events is not going to resume in the short term so whilst we have confidence in our ability to continue growing our market share globally, we are cognisant of the economic impact this crisis is having on our twentysomething customers and the pressure on their disposable incomes.” Beighton added that the whole fashion industry was suffering from a shortage in supply of sportswear – including sports shoes, jogging bottoms and hoodies – as a result of the surge in demand and a three-month “airpocket” in supply as factories in Bangladesh, India and other locations halted production during the pandemic. Beighton said Asos was “working hard to make sure we have supply”, but he did not expect the issue to improve until the spring. Asos also said that the company could be saddled with £25m of extra costs from World Trade Organization tariffs in the event of a no-deal end to Brexit transition in January. Sales rose by 19% to £3.3bn, the top end of expectations, in the year to 31 August and the company said the increasing popularity of beauty products and less fitted clothing, such as jogging pants and sweatshirts, had led to fewer items being returned, helping to boost profits by £45m. Asos also cut costs, including on marketing, and made efficiency gains from more automation at its European warehouse. Annual profits soared 329% to £142m. It said it was investing £5m on social distancing safety measures at its warehouse after criticisms of the treatment of workers when the coronavirus crisis hit the UK. The company has also paid back about £3m in furlough pay which it initially claimed for 1,000 workers in April. Sales rose 18% in the UK and by more than 20% in the US and EU during the year, driven by a 50% rise in sales of sportswear. The company is introducing a lower-priced own-label line, AsYou, predicting a continued squeeze on the finances of its shoppers. The range will largely be made in Leicester, despite widespread concerns about conditions in factories there. Beighton said Asos would be working with approved factories with which it had built a relationship.