Zalando says its full-year profit to exceed own target

(Reuters) - Europe's biggest online retailer Zalando said on Wednesday it expected its profit for 2024 to be above its own forecasts, after marketing-driven customer growth and improved sell-through led to better-than-expected fourth-quarter results.

Zalando now anticipates adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of around 510 million euros ($525 million), surpassing its guidance range of 440 million-480 million euros.

Preliminary figures show gross merchandise volume (GMV) in the year rose by 4.5% to 15.3 billion euros, while revenue grew by 3.9% to 10.5 billion euros, the company added.

This compares to its forecast for GMV and revenues growth of 15.1 billion–15.4 billion euros and 10.3 billion–10.7 billion euros respectively.

($1 = 0.9721 euros)

(Reporting by Linda Pasquini; Editing by Toby Chopra and Alexander Smith)