Press release

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB Three-month report

31 March, 2021

First quarter (1 December 2020 – 28 February 2021)

• The H&M group’s net sales amounted to SEK 40,060 m (54,948) in the first quarter. In local currencies, net sales decreased by 21 percent. The second wave of the pandemic resulted in extensive restrictions. At the most, around 1,800 stores were temporarily closed, i.e. around 36 percent of the group’s total number of stores. Online sales continued to develop very well.
• Gross profit amounted to SEK 19,057 m (28,034). This corresponds to a gross margin of 47.6 percent (51.0).
• Profit after financial items amounted to SEK -1,389 m (2,504).
• The group’s profit after tax amounted to SEK -1,070 m (1,928), corresponding to SEK -0.65 (1.16) per share.
• Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 5,936 m (6,837). Net debt in relation to EBITDA excluding IFRS 16 amounted to -0.2 (0.1), i.e. net debt has turned into net cash.
• The H&M group issued a EUR 500 m sustainability-linked bond with the aim of financing, among other things, an accelerated transition to recycled materials. The bond, which was 7.6 times oversubscribed, has a term of 8.5 years and a coupon rate of 0.25 percent.
• Sales increased by 55 percent in local currencies in the period 1 – 28 March 2021 compared with the same period in 2020.
• In the first quarter, the programme to streamline invoice management and payment processes has freed up just over SEK 3 billion of the around SEK 10 billion that is expected to be freed up in 2021.
• H&M’s customer loyalty programme now has over 120 million members in 26 markets.
• H&M’s members can now get points for more conscious choices such as bringing in old clothes for H&M’s garment collecting, choosing climate-smart delivery options, bringing their own bag when shopping and choosing products made from more sustainable materials.
• The H&M group’s sustainability report, Sustainability Performance Report 2020 will be published today at hmgroup.com.
• In March H&M opened online in Qatar via franchise and H&M has also been successfully launched on the e-commerce platform Zalora in Indonesia. In April the launch of H&M on Zalora will be extended to the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.

 

“While we are humbled by the uncertainty that still exists due to the pandemic, it’s fantastic to see the great interest in our collections. With a well-positioned customer offering we are continuing our transformation at full speed to create long-term sustainable and profitable growth for the H&M group,” says Helena Helmersson, CEO.

Comments by Helena Helmersson, CEO                      

“It is now a year since the full force of the pandemic hit. I am deeply impressed by and proud of all our colleagues’ fantastic commitment and customer focus during a very challenging time. Although it is still largely a matter of managing the negative effects of recurring store closures, it is clear that customers appreciate our offering. When markets have been allowed to open, store sales have picked up while at the same time online sales have continued to develop very well.

The changes that we were already seeing in areas such as digitalisation and sustainability have been speeded up further by the pandemic. We have therefore increased the pace of change, and thanks to our significant investments in recent years we are able to meet customers’ changing behaviour and higher expectations with increasing speed.

We want to give our customers unbeatable value and our main focus remains on developing the H&M group’s unique brands to offer collections with the best combination of fashion, quality, price and sustainability. You can read more about our extensive sustainability work and goals in our latest sustainability report that is presented today. For example, we are accelerating the transition to recycled materials with the ambition of making sustainable fashion available to all.

Our digital initiatives are continuing, along with the development of our physical store network. We can see that customers both want to be able to see, feel and try on the garments in real life and to use digital channels to explore fashion, be inspired and shop. Looking ahead, we will strengthen the interaction between the channels further in order to offer customers the best experience with all of our brands.

Our customer base is growing and one example of this is the rapid increase in the number of members of H&M’s customer loyalty programme. While we are humbled by the uncertainty that still exists due to the pandemic, it is fantastic to see the great interest that customers are showing in our collections. With a well-positioned customer offering we are continuing our transformation at full speed in order to create long-term sustainable and profitable growth for the H&M group.”

Communication in conjunction with the three-month report

The three-month report, i.e. 1 December 2020 – 28 February 2021, will be published at 08:00 CEST on 31 March 2021 and will be followed by a telephone conference at 09:00 CEST for the financial market and media hosted by CEO Helena Helmersson, CFO Adam Karlsson and Head of IR Nils Vinge. The telephone conference will be held in English.

For log in details for the telephone conference please register at hmgroup.com or via this link: http://emea.directeventreg.com/registration/8156159.

To book interviews with CEO Helena Helmersson, CFO Adam Karlsson and Head of IR Nils Vinge in conjunction with the three-month report on 31 March 2021, please contact: Kristina Stenvinkel, telephone: +46 8 796 39 08, e-mail: stenvinkel@hm.com

 

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ)
SE-106 38 Stockholm
Phone: +46-8-796 55 00, fax: +46-8-20 99 19, e-mail: info@hm.com
Registered office: Stockholm, Reg. No. 556042-7220
For more information about the H&M group visit hmgroup.com.

Information in this interim report is that which H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) is required to disclose under the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014/EU). The information was submitted for publication by the abovementioned persons at 08:00 (CEST) on 31 March 2021. This interim report and other information about the H&M group, is available at hmgroup.com.

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on Nasdaq Stockholm. H&M’s business idea is to offer fashion and quality at the best price in a sustainable way. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday, & Other Stories, H&M HOME and ARKET as well as Afound. The H&M group has 53 online markets and approximately 4,950 stores in 74 markets including franchise markets. In 2020, net sales were SEK 187 billion. The number of employees amounts to approximately 153,000. For further information, visit hmgroup.com.