Zara profit from oversea sales

Overseas sales and cost controls have helped Zara owner Inditex to report market-beating profits for the February-to-April quarter.The Spanish conglomerated reported a rise in net income of more than a third to 200m euros. One of Europe's fastest-growing fashion retailers, Inditex said it also gained from the weak US dollar in which it buys most of its raw materials.

It opened 114 stores worldwide in the quarter and now has 3,245 outlets. It also announced plans for further expansion, aiming to open between 440 and 520 new stores worldwide across its eight brands - which also include Pull and Bear, and Bershka - during the 2007 financial year.