H&M 1Q net profit missed forecasts as pandemic, higher costs hit
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1 min read . Updated: 31 Mar 2022, 05:44 PM IST - H&M has paused all sales in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus due to the war, with 185 stores across the three countries closed
Sweden’s Hennes & Mauritz AB on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected first-quarter net profit as earnings were hurt by the coronavirus pandemic in many of its major markets and by higher investment costs within technology and its supply chain.
H&M has paused all sales in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus due to the war, with 185 stores across the three countries closed. The company has around 4,800 stores globally, of which around 168 are in Russia, making it H&M’s sixth largest market and representing around 4% of group sales. H&M has eight stores in Ukraine and three in Belarus.
It said net sales between March 1 and 28 increased by 6% in local currencies on year, though excluding Russia, Belarus and Ukraine the increase was 11%.
H&M said it is also still feeling some impact from the pandemic, with 42 stores currently temporarily closed due to Covid-19.
The company posted a net profit of 217 million Swedish kronor ($23.4 million) for the fiscal quarter ended Feb. 28, compared with a loss of SEK1.07 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a profit of SEK913 million.
Sales rose 28% rose to SEK49.17 billion, as previously announced.
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This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text
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