The Swedish clothing group Hennes & Mauritz AB had to accept a slight decline in sales in the 2023/24 financial year, but was able to improve its result thanks to successful austerity measures. This emerges from the current annual report, which the parent company of brands such as H&M, Cos, Monki, Weekday, & other Stories and Arket presented on Thursday.
According to this, the group sales in the end of November amounted to 234.5 billion Swedish crowns (20.5 billion euros). This corresponded to a decline of one percent compared to the previous year. In the respective local currencies, however, the proceeds grew by one percent.
CEO Daniel Ervér sees the group “on the right track”
The company was able to achieve sales in Western Europe (+1 percent), Eastern Europe (+8 percent) and southern Europe (+1 percent). On the other hand, the proceeds declined in the Nordic countries (-3 percent), in America (-4 percent) and in the Asian-Pacific area (-4 percent).
Thanks to a higher gross margin and targeted savings, the group was able to increase its operational result by 19 percent to 17.3 billion Swedish crowns. The net profit, which was due to the shareholder, increased by 33 percent to 11.6 billion Swedish crowns (1.0 billion euros).
In view of the current development, CEO Daniel Ervér saw the group “on the right track” during his reform efforts. The clothing provider also started in the new financial year 2024/25. In the period from December 1st to January 28th, the revenue would have been four percent above the corresponding level of the previous year, the company said.