Stockholm, Sweden (BBN)- Swedish H&M group’s sales including VAT (value added tax) increased by 8.0 per cent in local currencies during the third quarter of this year.
Converted into Sweden Krona (SEK), sales including VAT increased by 6.0 per cent to SEK 56,802 million (53,420). Sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 48,982 m (46,024), according to the company announcement.
“Sales were good in most of the markets up until mid-August. Thereafter sales were negatively affected by unseasonably hot weather which continued into September, resulting in a challenging start to the autumn season,” Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of the H&M, said in a statement on Friday.
Gross profit amounted to SEK 26,471 m (25,712). This corresponds to a gross margin of 54.0 percent (55.9), it added.
Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 6,301 m (6,936). The group’s profit after tax amounted to SEK 4,820 m (5,306), corresponding to SEK 2.91 (3.21) per share.
Profits in the third quarter were negatively affected mostly by increased mark-downs but also due to higher purchasing costs from the strengthened US dollar.
H&M’s e-commerce will be launched in Canada and South Korea during autumn 2016.
A total of 11 new H&M online markets will thus be added in 2016, which means that H&M will offer e-commerce in 35 markets by the end of the year.
The H&M group’s sales including VAT in September 2016 are expected to increase by 1.0 per cent in local currencies compared to the same month last year.
The exceptionally warm weather in September delayed the start of the autumn season.
The H&M group plans a net addition of around 425 new stores and three new markets for the 2015/2016 financial year.
In addition to Puerto Rico which opened this June, and Cyprus, which opened in September, New Zealand will open its first H&M store in October.
In 2017, H&M plans to open stores in four to five new markets including Colombia, Iceland and Kazakhstan.
A continued fast roll-out of new H&M online markets is planned for 2017.
The H&M group plans to launch one or two new brands in 2017.
BBN/SSR/AD