H&M profits get a small boost as new store opening on the cards
Fashion darling H&M today revealed a small increase in profit after missing estimates for five of the previous six quarters.
The figures
The Spanish retailer's profits after tax stood at £1.7bn (18.636bn kronor) in the year ending 30 November 2016.
Sales in the first 29 days of this month rose 11 percent at constant currency rates, up from six per cent in December.
A total of 70 to 80 new store openings are on the cards but they will be other H&M brands such as COS, Monki and Weekday.
The group will also review existing locations which could lead to store closures, it said yesterday.
Read more: H&M's share price falls after sales figures disappoint
Why it's interesting
H&M will push its e-commerce offering in six more markets this year, taking it online in 41 of the 69 it is present in. It is also planning new stores in Kazakhstan, Colombia, Iceland, Vietnam and Georgia.
For this year, H&M is hoping for an annual local-currency sales growth, including online sales, of 10-15 percent.
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What H&M said:
Karl-Johan Persson, H&M chief executive, said: "During the year, we opened 427 new stores net worldwide and added three new markets, and we also rolled out our online store to 11 additional markets."