Net profits surged 17 per cent from a year ago period at Swedish apparel retailer H&M Group for the full fiscal year ended November 30, 2014.
The Group’s profit after tax increased to SEK 19,976 million or corresponding to SEK 12.07 per share, a hike of 17 per cent in fiscal year 2013-14.
Sales excluding VAT too drove up higher by 18 per cent at H&M in the fiscal year 2013-14 to SEK 151,419 million, while sales including VAT in local currencies rose by 14 per cent.
According to the apparel retailer well-received collections for all brands in the H&M Group resulted in good sales and increased market share.
In the reporting year gross profit mounted by 17 per cent year-on-year to SEK 89,052 million, which corresponds to a gross margin of 58.8 percent as against 59.1 per cent in the previous fiscal year.
Profit after financial items too ascended by 15 per cent from the last fiscal or more than SEK 3.4 million to SEK 25,895 million.
The Board of Directors proposed a dividend of SEK 9.75 per share for the fiscal year 2013-14 compared to SEK 9.50 per share in fiscal year 2012-13.
December 2014 revenues too surged 15 per cent in local currencies compared to the corresponding month the previous year.
It also expects sales in January 2015 to increase by 14 per cent in local currencies, when compared to the same month last year.
“The strong result for 2014 has led to SEK 303 million being allocated to the H&M Incentive Program (HIP) as against SEK 31 million allocated to HIP in last fiscal year,” H&M said.
HIP is for all employees regardless of role, salary and whether they work part-time or full-time. The allocation to HIP was expensed in the fourth quarter.
“The significant difference in HIP allocations between 2013-14 and 2012-13 make it an item affecting comparability both in the full-year results for 2014 and in the fourth quarter of 2014,” H&M added.
H&M undertook a strong store expansion during the fiscal year with a total net addition of 379 news stores with the largest network expansion happening in China and the US.
More than 16,000 new jobs were created in the H&M Group in 2013-14 compared to 12,000 added in the previous fiscal year.
At the end of the fiscal year, H&M was managing 3,511 stores in 55 markets and number of employees totaled to more than 132,000 at the end of the year.
Taiwan, Peru, Macau, South Africa and India will become new H&M markets in 2014-15 and COS and & Other Stories will open more new stores in the new fiscal year compared with 2013-14.
“Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Switzerland will become new H&M online markets in 2015,” the retailer informed. (AR)
