H&M sales inch up 3% in nine months of FY18

28 Sep '18

2 min read

Courtesy: H&M

The H&M group’s sales including VAT rose 3 per cent to SEK 178,817 million during the first nine months of financial year 2018 as compared to SEK 173,290 million in the corresponding period of the previous year. Sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 153,986 million, an increase of 3 per cent. In local currencies, sales including VAT grew by 1 per cent.

For the reported period, profit after financial items amounted to SEK 11,287 million as against SEK 15,936 million in the last year.. The group’s profit after tax amounted to SEK 9,109 million from SEK 12,191 million during the earlier year, corresponding to SEK 5.50 per share.

"The rapid changes in the fashion industry are continuing and the H&M group is in an exciting transitional period. Our transformation work has contributed to a gradual improvement in sales development with increased market share in most markets during the third quarter, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Eastern Europe, Russia and China," said Karl-Johan Persson, CEO.

The most important aspect of the Sweden-based company's improvement work is to develop the assortment in line with customers’ increased expectations and to offer the best combination of fashion, quality and price in a sustainable way. On top of that, it is also working to enhance the customer experience. It has been getting positive response from customers to the changes that has been made both online and in stores – including in those H&M stores, where it is trying out various adjustments to the assortment, product display and shop fittings. The company is therefore now scaling up this to more stores and markets.

"We are continuing to optimise the store portfolio in order to accommodate customers’ changed shopping patterns in the ongoing shift online. In the year to date this has meant a lower net addition of new stores within the group. We are also seeing that the shift provides opportunities to achieve even better lease terms for both new and existing stores," explained Persson.

"As always, we have a long-term perspective. Our improvement work is continuing and although many challenges remain, there are more and more indications that we are on the right track. We are therefore positive towards the future and the opportunities that exist for the H&M group," concluded he. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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