COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, reported on Thursday a 10% increase year-on-year in September-November net sales, slightly exceeding market expectations of a 9.5% rise.
Net sales for September-November, H&M’s fiscal fourth quarter, stood at 62.5 billion Swedish crowns ($6.13 billion), up from 56.8 billion crowns a year ago, while analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast 62.17 billion crowns.
“The H&M group’s operations in Russia and Belarus were wound up during the quarter, with the remaining stock being sold off and the last stores having closed on 30 November,” the company said in a statement.
“During the quarter around 25–50 stores in China were temporarily closed due to new Covid outbreaks.”
Measured in local currencies, sales in the quarter were unchanged, it said.
H&M, which has struggled to keep up with bigger rival Zara, last month became the first big European retailer to lay off staff in response to the cost-of-living crisis as it tries to save 2 billion Swedish crowns a year.
($1 = 10.1963 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
