H&M has reported stronger-than-expected profits and said its third-quarter sales were off to a good start.
The fashion giant reported operating profit in its March to May second quarter of 4.74bn Swedish krona (SEK) (£0.35bn), down from 4.98bn SEK (£0.37bn) last year but ahead of analyst forecasts.
Net sales increased 6% in the second quarter to 57.6bn SEK (£4.23bn), in local currencies flat compared with last year, while first-half net sales in local currencies increased by 1% to 112.5bn SEK (£8.27bn).
H&M’s operating profit margin in the second quarter was 8.2%, down from 9.2% a year earlier, and it has restated its goal of a 10% margin next year.
Chief executive Helena Helmersson said: “With the second quarter behind us, we can conclude that we have taken a number of further important steps towards our goals. We increased sales in many markets despite reduced purchasing power and unfavourable weather conditions compared with last year.
“The summer collections have been well received and the third quarter has got off to a good start. The conditions for increased growth as well as profitability continue to develop in a favourable direction.”
“The external factors that affect our purchasing costs continue to improve, work on the cost and efficiency programme is proceeding at full speed, and much of the work that we have done in recent years is starting to bear fruit.
“We are also continuing our initiatives focusing on the customer offering, while at the same time, we want to give our customers an even better experience with more inspiration and flexibility in our physical stores and digital channels.”
No comments yet