UPDATE 2-Online fashion firm ASOS first-half sales soar

(Adds more details, comments by CEO, analyst; shares)

By James Davey

LONDON, Oct 1 (Reuters) - ASOS Plc (ASOS.L), the AIM-listed British Internet fashion retailer, defied the gloom on the high street, reporting buoyant first-half sales and issuing a confident outlook statement.

In an update published on Wednesday, ahead of its annual shareholders' meeting, the group, formerly known as As Seen on Screen, said ASOS.com's sales for the six months to Sept. 30 increased 104 percent.

The outcome, boosted by stellar sales of tartan dresses, riding coats, platform shoes and statement jewellery, compares to first-quarter growth of 95 percent and analyst forecasts for growth of 70 percent to 90 percent.

"This is a remarkable performance, especially considering the year on year comparative is 80 percent," said analysts at Citi in a research note.

Many UK retailers are struggling as consumers, under pressure from higher fuel, food and mortgage costs, curb spending.

But ASOS has been bucking this trend, benefiting from a young core customer base and the migration of retail spending from the high street to the Internet.

"We remain positive about the long-term prospects for ASOS and the future of online shopping in general," said Chief Executive Nick Robertson. "We believe our business dynamics and customer base should be resilient to the wider economic issues and that online shopping will continue to gain market share."

However, he said the retailer faces tougher comparative numbers in the second half and does not expect brokers' full-year profit forecasts to change.

"There isn't a retailer on the planet that isn't being a little bit cautious about what's going to happen over the next three or four months," he told Reuters.

"It's not that we're not confident but I can't sit here and accurately assess what's going to happen for the full year."

Prior to Wednesday's update analysts were forecasting a year to end-March 2009 consensus pretax profit of about 13 million pounds, up from 8.2 million pounds last time.

As of Sept. 28, the ASOS.com website had 1.83 million registered users and 890,000 active customers, up from 490,000 last year.

The site targets Internet savvy 18 to 34 year olds looking to emulate the designer looks of celebrities such as Kate Moss, Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham, but at a fraction of the price.

The second most visited clothing site in the United Kingdom, after Next Plc's (NXT.L), offers over 18,000 fashion products across womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, jewellery and beauty.

At 0743 GMT shares in ASOS, 12.8 percent of which are owned by Robertson, were up 4.25 pence, or 1.2 percent, at 354 pence, valuing the business at 254 million pounds.

The shares have nearly trebled in value over the last year. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Paul Bolding and Simon Jessop)