H&M: mixed quarterly results, share price falls

(CercleFinance.com) - H&M reported mixed results for the fourth quarter on Thursday, with profits ahead of analysts' expectations but sales just short of them.


Sales for the October-December period rose by 3% in local currencies, to SEK 62.2 billion, against analysts' average forecast of 4% growth.

Nevertheless, the Swedish ready-to-wear group almost doubled its after-tax profit to SEK 3.08 billion from SEK 1.57 billion a year earlier, giving earnings per share (EPS) of SEK 1.92, 12 cents above consensus.

After a year as CEO, I'm confident that we're heading in the right direction", said Daniel Erver, the group's new boss, who has set himself the goal of refocusing the business on fundamentals.

While he sees positive signs in inflation and interest rates, Erver believes that the current difficult economic conditions and geopolitical uncertainty could weigh on consumer morale this year.

As a result, the stock fell by over 3% on Thursday morning, one of the biggest declines on the OMXS30 index of Swedish blue-chip stocks.

Copyright (c) 2025 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.