Online fashion giant Zalando has posted a rise in quarterly sales as its customer base grew.

Zalando’s revenues advanced 26.7% to €1.5bn in the third quarter and gross merchandise volume (GMV) rose 24.6% to €1.9bn.

The etailer reported adjusted EBIT of €6.3m, a profit margin of 0.4%.

Visits to the Zalando site exceeded 1 billion for the first time in a single quarter, and the retailer’s active customer base was up 17.5% to 29.5 million.

Chief financial officer David Schröder said: “2019 has been a very successful year for us so far. We had a strong third quarter with more active customers who more and more frequently look for inspiration on Zalando.

“We are growing at a high pace across all regions. We want to maintain the momentum for a strong finish to the year and look forward to celebrating together with our customers the upcoming Cyber Week and the festive season.” 

Following a strong performance over the first nine months of the financial year, Zalando said it was confident in its full-year guidance for 2019. The retailer expects gross merchandise volume growth of 20% to 25% and revenue growth “around the low end of this range”. Adjusted EBIT is anticipated to be in the upper half of the range of €175m to €225m.

The retailer will up its efforts on sustainability and said “from now on, Zalando will be carbon neutral in its own operations, deliveries and returns”.

Zalando is it introduce more sustainable fashion options and said: “Three new brands offering more sustainable products will be added to the assortment and Zalando’s private-label brand Zign will be fully dedicated to sustainability as of the summer season 2020.”