Spanish fashion retailer Inditex's revenue climbs 35.8% in FY21

“After two years of pandemic, this set of results demonstrates the incredible ability to adapt to any circumstances that characterises all the people who work here, borne from their commitment and talent,” Inditex’s executive chairman Pablo Isla said.

“The leadership demonstrated by the company on the digital transformation front in recent years, this places us in an unrivalled position to offer an exceptional level of engagement with our quality and sustainable fashion,” group CEO Óscar García Maceiras said.

The performance through 2021, which was still shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighted the reactiveness of the business model. In the first quarter, for example, store trading hours were 24 per cent below capacity due to health restrictions, measures that had to be reintroduced during the last quarter, due to the emergence and rapid transmission in mid December of the Omicron variant. However, once the pandemic retreated, sales rebounded strongly and the group reported record levels of earnings in both the second and third quarters, Inditex said in a press release.

Notably, revenue from online sales amounted to €7.5 billion, up 14 per cent from a year earlier following strong growth of 77 per cent in 2020. Online sales now account for 25.5 per cent of total group sales and it is expected to reach 30 per cent of total sales in 2024. Those figures rank the company alongside the world’s largest ecommerce players.

The group posted a robust gross margin of 57.1 per cent, up 123 basis points from 2020, marking the highest level in six years. EBITDA amounted to €7.18 billion and EBIT came in at €4.28 billion, year-on-year growth of 57.8 per cent and 184.2 per cent, respectively. The Group continued to generate strong cash flow, which was up 24 per cent with a net cash position to €9.36 billion, a record high.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (RR)