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Vital Numbers and information
•    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.

H & M reports lower than expected profits

Wednesday, 30 January 2013
Clothing company H & M became less profitable in the fourth quarter of last year. The important gross margin was in line with expectations.
Gross margin for the fourth quarter was 61.6 percent, in line with the prior tips, according to a compilation of information from analysts. During the corresponding period last year it was 61.9 percent.

Gross margin is the extra focus since the last interim report fell far below market expectations. The more negative the image of H & M has since been emulated by the share price.
“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,” said CEO Karl-Johan Persson.

H&M financial numbers summary Year-end report 2012 1 December 2011 – 30 November 2012
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. * per cent (14.3 per cent on 31 December 2011).	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.
Source: H&M – Full report is found here

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