The fashion retailer H&M has significantly improved its results in the third business district and cut it better than expected.
The company benefited from falling costs, as H&M announced in Stockholm on Thursday. The operational result rose 40 percent to 4.9 billion Swedish crowns (440 million euros). The bottom line is H&M 3.2 billion crowns, after 2.3 billion a year earlier. This also increases the signs that the return on your own brand begins to bear fruit.
The stocks rose by 12 percent at the start of the trade, in the morning it was still a good eight percent. With the course jump, the paper confirmed the trend reversal, which had already been indicated in the past few weeks. After a month -long stabilization, the course last broke out over the upper limitation at around 150 crowns and thus heralded a new upward impulse.
The profitability of the Swedes was higher in the third quarter, noted Richard Chamberlain from the Canadian bank RBC. The current business is robust, the customs loads would only come into play in the fourth quarter. James Grzinic from the Jefferies analysis house called the operational development “quite impressive”. The operational profit exceeded expectations of over 30 percent.
The stronger Swedish currency loaded the sales development of H&M. The proceeds fell from 59 to 57 billion crowns. Negative exchange rate effects would have burdened around five percentage points, it said. In addition, the number of shops fell by four percent. Current -adjusted H&M achieved a slight plus of two percent. Increased marketing should have contributed to this. The inventory also developed positively: the available merchandise fell by nine percent.
The autumn collection has so far been well received by customers, H&M continues. For September, the company expects currency -adjusted sales at the previous year’s level. The fashion dealer referred to a strong month of the previous year. The sales had climbed by eleven percent due to the cold weather.
At the beginning of the month, Inditex, the Spanish parent company of the main competitor Zara, had already sent a more positive signal for the industry with a stronger start in the autumn season. Thanks to its slim supply chain and its faster fashion cycle, the Spaniards H&M have been overtaking for a long time.