H&M Group sales up 9 percent in 2013

REPORT_ The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased in local currencies by 9 percent during the financial year. Sales in comparable units remained unchanged. Converted into Swedish krona, sales excluding VAT amounted to 128,562 million Swedish krona

(19,858 million dollars), an increase of 6 percent. Gross profit amounted to 76,033 million Swedish krona (11,744 million dollars), corresponding to a gross margin of 59.1 percent.

The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased in local currencies by 13 percent in the fourth quarter, sales in comparable units increased by 3 percent. Converted into Swedish krona, sales excluding VAT amounted to 36,495 million Swedish krona (5,637 million dollars). Gross profit increased by 11 percent, corresponding to a gross margin of 60.8 percent.

The

Board of Directors proposes a dividend of 9.50 Swedish krona (1.47 dollars) per share for the financial year 2012/2013. Sales in December 2013 increased by 10 percent in local currencies compared to the corresponding month the previous year. Calendar adjusted sales increased just above 12 percent. Sales in January 2014 are expected to increase by 15 percent in local currencies compared to the same month the previous year.

Commenting on the financial results, Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M said, “2013 ended strongly with well-received autumn collections, which increased our sales in the fourth quarter by 13 percent in local currencies. This is a good result considering the substantial long-term investments that we are making in areas such as IT, online, new brands and broadening our product range. Examples of these investments are our new fashion brand, & Other Stories, which has received a fantastic response as well as our extended H&M Sport range that was launched this January. The sports collections were designed together with Swedish Olympic athletes, with a focus on function, fit, design and comfort. Another area where we are continuing to invest is online sales, which are becoming increasingly important.”

“The financial year 2014 has got off to a good start, with strong sales development in December and January. Although there are still macro-economic challenges in several of our markets, we are optimistic about 2014 which will be an exciting year with new countries and new opportunities. We have a strong belief in our offering and are convinced that we will strengthen our market position even further during the year,” Persson added.

H&M plans a net addition of around 375 new stores for the financial year 2013/2014. Australia and the Philippines will become new H&M countries in 2014. In addition to this, a couple of other new H&M markets are planned to open at the end of 2014. Four new H&M online markets are planned to open in 2014. France will open in Spring/Summer 2014. An additional three large online markets are planned to open later in the year. Today, H&M has more than 3,100 stores in 53 countries.