As the recriminations continue following Facebook’s botched IPO, there is one online business that carries on rewarding investors – Asos.

As the recriminations continue following Facebook’s botched IPO, there is one online business that carries on rewarding investors – Asos.

Floated on AIM little more than 10 years ago, Asos remains on the junior market. But capitalised at £1.3bn it would be the 10th biggest retailer by value if it was on the main market and is worth twice as much as the only other listed pure-play, Ocado.

Asos has been an impressive entrepreneurial story and, from an investment point of view, the likelihood is that there will be more reward to come as the etailer continues to grow internationally.

Last week’s prelims showed a 7% leap in UK retail sales – a figure others would die for, although Asos has in the past beaten that number. The bigger story is at its international division, where sales rocketed 103%. Overall, profits soared by 93%.

Asos identified early on that it had a global opportunity to key in to a worldwide, net-savvy generation of consumers with a shared sense of fashion. From the US to Australia, revenues are rising. Its ambition is to hit the £1bn sales mark by 2015 – double today’s total turnover.

There have been upsets along the way. The City has become so used to stratospheric growth from Asos that whenever the rate has come in below sky-high expectation, investor disappointment has been overdone.

The retailer has enhanced its investor relations operation, which should help avoid some of the City exuberance that has in the past resulted in expectations being set too high and consequent disappointment.

The big point though is that Asos is a well-run business that retains a strong entrepreneurial culture, complemented by tight operational discipline. The opening of a new warehouse is delivering efficiencies, own-label is fast developing – helping further to distinguish the etailer from rivals – and margins are up.

Asos looks well positioned to remain on its upwards journey.