H&M and Luxottica shares top early trading

H&M saw its shares fall by 2 percent in the early trading hours

on Wednesday after it released full year’s results slightly worse than had been expected in the City. Net profits for the three months to the end of November of 5.29 billion kronor (528 million pounds), down from 5.36 billion kronor in the same quarter last year.

Despite the last quarter’s drop, net profit for the full year came in at 16.87 billion kronor, implying a 7 percent hike on last year. "Our long-term investments relate to a number of areas such as online shopping, IT, a completely new brand & Other Stories and future broadening of the product range," said chief executive Karl-Johan Persson, who added that "These long-term investments have created cost increases and to a great extent have not yet generated any revenue."

2013 will be a year for international expansion and brand development for the Swedish fashion group as it will open stores bearing its new brand & Other Stories in the UK, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, France and Sweden in the first half of the year. In comparison, H&M opened 304 new stores in 2012 and plans to open 325 more this year.

Elsewhere, Luxottica recorded its highest ever earnings in 2012 with fourth quarter net sales amounting up to 1.63 billion euros (+ 8.2 percent) and to be compared to last year’s same period’s 1.51 billion. Luxottica Group SpA’s stock had its “neutral” rating restated by analysts at Mediobanca SpA in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday. They currently have a 37.43 dollars (28 euro) price target on the stock.