H&M FY'13 sales flat from previous fiscal

FULL-YEAR

The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased in local currencies by 9 percent during the financial year. Sales in comparable units were unchanged. Converted into SEK, sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 128,562 m (120,799), an increase of 6 percent.

Gross profit amounted to SEK 76,033 m (71,871), corresponding to a gross margin of 59.1 percent (59.5).

Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 22,526 m (22,285). Profit for the year was negatively affected by currency translation effects of approximately SEK 600 m compared to the previous year. The Group’s profit after tax increased to SEK 17,152 m (16,867), corresponding to SEK 10.36 (10.19) per share.

Strong expansion during the year with a net addition of 356 (304) new stores. China and the US were the largest expansion markets.

More than 12,000 new jobs were created in the H&M Group in 2013. The number of employees amounted to more than 116,000 (104,000) by the end of the year.

FOURTH QUARTER

The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased in local currencies by 13 percent in the fourth quarter. Sales in comparable units increased by 3 percent. Converted into SEK, sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 36,495 m (32,502).

Gross profit increased by 11 percent and amounted to SEK 22,189 m (20,017), corresponding to a gross margin of 60.8 percent (61.6). The difference in the gross margin is mainly due to currency exchange rate effects arising in connection with payments for the Group’s flow of goods and to year-end effects. Apart from these factors, the gross margin was more or less at the same level as in the fourth quarter 2012.

Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 7,337 m (6,636), an increase of 11 percent. The Group’s profit after tax amounted to SEK 5,608 m (5,287), corresponding to SEK 3.39 (3.19) per share.

The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 9.50 (9.50) per share for the financial year 2012/2013. Sales in December 2013 increased by 10 percent in local currencies compared to the corresponding month the previous year. Calendar adjusted sales increased just above 12 percent. Sales in January 2014 are expected to increase by 15 percent in local currencies compared to th same month the previous year.

H&M plans a net addition of around 375 new stores for the financial year 2013/2014. Australia and the Philippines will become new H&M countries in 2014. In addition to this, a couple of  other new H&M markets are planned to open at the end of 2014. Four new H&M online markets are planned to open in 2014. France will open in spring/summer 2014. An additional three large online markets are planned to open later in the year.

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