STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden’s H&M, the world’s second-biggest fashion retailer, on Wednesday reported a 33% growth in quarterly profit which beat expectations, as shoppers thronged its stores in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The company posted a pretax profit of 4.78 billion Swedish crowns ($470.76 million) in the second quarter, up from 3.59 billion crowns a year earlier. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had on average forecast a 3.87 billion crown profit.
“Sales in physical stores increased substantially while online continues to do well,” Chief Executive Officer Helena Helmersson said in a statement.
“Disruption and delays still exist in the supply chain, but are gradually being eased,” she added.
H&M said sales in June is expected to decrease by 6% in local currencies compared with a year earlier, mostly because of paused sales in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
($1 = 10.1538 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee and Anna Ringstrom in Stockholm, editing by Stine Jacobsen)
