Dow Jones Newswires: H&M profit beats forecasts as collections score a hit with shoppers

New collections and fewer markdowns helped offset higher costs from turnaround efforts at the Swedish retailer. Read More...

Hennes & Mauritz AB Thursday posted a forecast-beating rise in third-quarter net profit as new collections and fewer markdowns helped offset higher costs from turnaround efforts.

The Swedish fashion retailer HM.B, +6.14% posted a net profit of 3.86 billion Swedish kronor ($391 million) for the quarter ended Aug. 31, compared with SEK3.1 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a profit of SEK3.76 billion.

Sales rose to SEK62.57 billion from SEK55.82 billion, as previously announced, while net sales in September are estimated to have increased by 8% on the year in local currencies.

“Well-received summer collections and increased market share show that we are on the right track with our transformation work to meet customers’ ever-increasing expectations,” said Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson.

“The continued development of more full-price sales and reduced markdowns contributed to a 26 percent increase in operating profit in the third quarter, all while maintaining a high level of activity in our transformation work.”