H&M shares surge after quarterly profit rise
H&M reported its first quarterly rise in pre-tax profit in more than two years this morning as sales spiked due to well-received summer collections.
Shares rose more than six per cent this morning as the world’s second largest fashion retailer said pre-tax profit in the period from June to August grew to 5bn kr from 4.01bn kr last year.
Read more: H&M reports strongest sales growth in three years
In the third quarter, group net sales increased 12 per cent to 62,572m kr, driven by the success of well received summer collections.
Online sales soared 30 per cent and gross profit was up 13 per cent.
H&M chief executive Karl-Johan Persson said: “Well-received summer collections and increased market share show that we are on the right track with our transformation work to meet customers’ ever-increasing expectations.
“The continued development of more full-price sales and reduced markdowns contributed to a 26 per cent increase in operating profit in the third quarter, all while maintaining a high level of activity in our transformation work.”
Read more: H&M shares rise after spike in summer sales
In August, the brand began selling products on Indian ecommerce platform with results that “exceeded the company’s high expectations”.
However, the firm will only add 120 new stores in the year, fewer than it previously said.