Fashion giant Zara’s owner, Inditex (ITX.MC), reported on Wednesday that its quarterly profit jumped 80%. on the back of soaring sales as consumers stuck at home during the pandemic revamped their wardrobes.
Net profit for the February-April quarter rose to 760 million euros ($812.06 million), in line with analysts’ expectations. The company surpassed pre-pandemic levels while its gross margin hit a 10-year high; the company said.
In the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic struck. Inditex reported a profit of 734 million euros and sales of 5.93 billion euros. Inditex’s CEO Oscar Garcia Maceiras says that this set of earnings results from a “well-differentiated model that is delivering strongly.”
The company said its gross margin came in at 60.1%. While sales grew at the highest level in a decade, operating expenses grew 24%, a slower pace than sales.
Best known for the fast-to-market Zara brand, which accounts for 71% of the company’s sales. Inditex outperformed its rival H&M (HMb.ST), as the Swedish clothing company posted net sales of $5.1 billion. In the first three months of its fiscal year 2022. The company’s board will propose a total dividend payment from 2022 profits of 0.93 euros per share.
-Reuters.
