H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Full-Year Report

FULL-YEAR

• The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased in local currencies by 11 percent during the financial year. Sales in comparable units increased by 1 percent. Converted into SEK, sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 120,799 m (109,999), an increase of 10 percent.
• Gross profit amounted to SEK 71,871 m (66,147), corresponding to a gross margin of 59.5 percent (60.1).
• Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 22,285 m (20,942). The Group’s profit after tax increased by 7 percent to SEK 16,867 m (15,821), corresponding to SEK 10.19 (9.56) per share. Profit after tax increased by 1 billion SEK despite negative effects from the Group’s large long-term investments and negative currency translation effects.
• Strong expansion during the year. The Group opened 304 (266) new stores net compared to originally planned 275. China and the US were the largest expansion markets.

THE FOURTH QUARTER

• The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased by 9 percent in local currencies in the fourth quarter. Sales in comparable units were unchanged. Converted into SEK, sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 32,502 m (30,952).
• Gross profit amounted to SEK 20,017 m (19,150), corresponding to a gross margin of 61.6 percent (61.9).
• Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 6,636 m (6,802). Group profit after tax amounted to
  SEK 5,287 m (5,357), corresponding to SEK 3.19 (3.24) per share. Profits after tax were affected by large long-term investments as well as negative currency translation effects of approximately SEK 240 m.

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• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 9.50 (9.50) per share for the financial year 2011/2012.
• Sales in December 2012 increased by 8 percent in local currencies compared to the corresponding month the previous year. Sales in comparable units decreased by 2 percent. Sales in December were affected by a negative calendar effect of approximately 3 percentage points.
• Sales in January 2013 are expected to increase by 5 percent in local currencies compared to the same month last year. From mid-January onwards, sales were negatively affected by very cold weather in many of H&M’s markets in Europe.
•  H&M plans a net addition of around 325 stores for the financial year 2012/2013.
• Chile, Estonia, Lithuania, Serbia and, via franchise, Indonesia will become new H&M markets in 2013.
• The new fashion brand & Other Stories will open its first stores during spring 2013 in Spain, Germany, Denmark, UK, Italy, France and Sweden. & Other Stories will also be available via online sales in these countries as well as in Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland at stories.com.
• COS will expand to new countries in 2013 with stores in Oslo, Norway and in Dubai, UAE.
• The completely mobile-adapted H&M shop online was launched in H&M’s eight existing online markets in January 2013.

Comments by Karl-Johan Persson, CEO
“H&M continues to stand strong in a challenging clothing market which in many countries has been even more challenging in 2012 compared to 2011. The fact that we increased sales by 11 percent in local currencies and 1 percent in comparable units whilst continuing to gain market share proves once again that customers appreciate our collections, which offer a wide range of inspiring fashion for everyone.

We increased our profits by 1 billion SEK – i.e. an increase of 7 percent compared to the previous year – despite negative effects from large long-term investments and currency translation effects. Our long-term investments relate to a number of areas such as online shopping, IT, a completely new brand & Other Stories and future broadening of the product range. These long-term investments have created cost increases and to a great extent have not yet generated any revenue. However, we consider these investments to be both necessary and wise as they aim to secure future expansion and profits and thereby further strengthen H&M’s position.

We continued our strong expansion and opened 304 new stores net during 2012. Five new markets were added and we created around 10,000 new jobs. Today we have a strong global presence with over 2,800 stores in 48 markets and more than 104,000 employees.

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important and one element of our strong offering is also that our increasingly aware customers see H&M as the more sustainable option. Sustainability is therefore high on our agenda; it is an integral part of our operations and has been so for some time.

The strong pace of expansion is continuing in 2013 with a planned 325 new stores net. This means that we will effectively be opening a new store every day. In 2013 the highest rate of expansion will again be in China and the US. The new H&M countries in 2013 will be Chile, Estonia, Lithuania, Serbia and Indonesia. We are very much looking forward to the spring when we will be able to offer our customers a completely new fashion brand with the opening of the first stores of & Other Stories.

We are looking forward to an exciting 2013 full of opportunities. We have the greatest respect for the macro-economic climate and how it may affect the consumption in many of our markets, but we have a strong belief in our offering and are convinced that H&M will continue to maintain its strong position.”

The information in this Full-year Report is that which H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) is required to disclose under Sweden’s Securities Market Act. It will be released for publication at 8.00 (CET) on 30 January 2013.

CONTACT PERSONS

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ)
SE-106 38 Stockholm
Phone: +46-8-796 55 00, Fax: +46-8-24 80 78, E-mail: info@hm.com
Registered office: Stockholm, Reg. No. 556042-7220

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. The company’s business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday, & Other Stories as well as H&M Home. The H&M Group has more than 2,800 stores in 48 markets including franchise markets. In 2012, sales including VAT were SEK 140,948 million and the number of employees was more than 104,000. For further information, visit www.hm.com.