H & M HENNES & MAURITZ AB SIX-MONTH REPORT
• Profit after financial items for the first six months was SEK 9,338 m (9,490), a decrease of 2 percent. Group profit after tax amounted to SEK 6,770 m (6,880), corresponding to SEK 8.18 (8.31) per share.
• Sales excluding VAT for the second quarter amounted to SEK 26,538 m (21,609), an increase of 23 percent. In local currencies, the increase was 8 percent. In comparable units, sales decreased by 2 percent.
• The gross profit for the second quarter amounted to SEK 16,201 m (13,582), an increase of 19 percent. The gross margin, which amounted to 61.0 percent (62.9), has continued to be negatively affected by currency hedges of the internal flow of goods by approximately 1.3 percentage units.
• Profit after financial items for the second quarter amounted to SEK 5,784 m (5,433), an increase of 6 percent. Group profit after tax amounted to SEK 4,193 m (3,939).
• Price reductions for the second quarter were on the same level as the corresponding period previous year.
• Continued strong expansion during the first half-year. The expansion target for the full year remains intact.
Sales
Sales excluding VAT for the H&M Group during the first six months of the financial year amounted to SEK 49,837 m (41,351), an increase of 21 percent. Sales including VAT amounted to SEK 58,352 m (48,653). In local currencies the increase was 6 percent. In comparable units, sales decreased by 3 percent.
Sales excluding VAT in the second quarter amounted to SEK 26,538 m (21,609), an increase of 23 percent. Sales including VAT were SEK 31,070 m (25,412). In local currencies, sales increased by 8 percent and decreased by 2 percent in comparable units.
In May 2009, sales including VAT in local currencies were unchanged compared to the same month previous year. Sales in comparable units decreased by 9 percent. Sales in May have been negatively affected by calendar effects of approximately 4-5 percentage units. The sales development should be seen in the light of the increase of 25 percent in May 2008 compared to May the year before.
During the first half-year the Group opened 93 (59*) stores and closed 9 (8) stores. The total number of stores in the Group as per 31 May 2009 thus amounted to 1,822 (1,593), of which 29 are franchise stores.
* Excluding the 20 stores that were consolidated through the acquisition of FaBric Scandinavien AB, 1 May, 2008.
Contact persons
Nils Vinge, IR
+46-8-796 5250
Jyrki Tervonen, CFO
+46-8-796 5277
Rolf Eriksen, CEO
+46-8-796 5233
Switchboard
+46-8-796 5500
Information about H&M and press images are available at www.hm.com
The information in this Interim 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 08:00 (CET) on 25 June 2009.