H&M’s autumn profit beats expectations
Fashion retailer H&M has surpassed expectations with a bigger profit increase than expected for its autumn trading period.
In an update on Friday, the Swedish firm said pretax profit hit levels equivalent to £478.6m for the September to November period.
Profit reached 6bn crowns in its financial fourth quarter, up from 3.67bn the previous year.
Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast a 5.43bn crown profit, according to Reuters.
It comes after the retailer has marked well-received fashion collections and effectively controlled costs.
“The strong result for the quarter is mainly a result of well-received collections with more full-price sales, lower mark-downs and good cost control,” H&M said on Friday morning.
The retailer said its target was to double sales by 2030 and for profitability to exceed 10 per cent over time, as well as halving its carbon footprint.