Zalando has posted an increase in sales and profits and gained more customers during its first quarter.

The online fashion retailer posted €6.5m (£5.5m) in adjusted EBITDA during the first quarter of the year, up from €0.4m (£0.3m) in the same period the previous year.

The upmarket fashion platform recorded a 15.2% increase in sales growth to €1.4bn (£1.2bn), down slightly from 22% for the first quarter last year.

Zalando attributed its strong start to the year to “expanding its customer reach” as active customers increased by 14.1% to 27.2m.

The online retailer expects its full year guidance of gross merchandise volume growth to be between 20% and 25% and adjusted EBIT between €175m (£150m) and €225m (£193m).

Zalando chief financial officer David Schröder said: “We are happy with our financial results in the first quarter, which show a strong focus on growth and are in line with our annual guidance. We will continue to invest in areas of our business that have high added value for our customers.”