H&M: Consumer consumption is gaining momentum(70179)

H&M boosted by strong spring collection

Hennes & Mauritz [H&M], the Swedish fashion chain, said that a strong spring collection helped it beat expectations for first quarter profit.

The chain said that pre-tax profit between December and February was 5.1bn Swedish crowns ( 461m), compared to a forecast of 4.6bn Swedish crowns.

Over the same quarter last year it made a profit of 3.6bn Swedish crowns.

H&M is the world's third largest clothing retailer after Gap and Zara-owner Inditex. It said that a well-received recent collection and currency fluctuations had strengthened profits over the period and that trading in the second quarter had started strongly following a weak first three months of the year.

"There is increased traffic in our stores," said Karl-Johan Persson, H&M's chief executive.

"It looks like private consumption is gaining steam in a lot of our markets."

"A very good start for H&M," said Soren Lontoft Hansen, analyst at Sydbank. "And looking at the gross margin, it is very, very positive."

In a statement H&M said: "In view of the continued weak economy during the quarter, the company considers that sales have been satisfactory."