H&M: sales rise 5% in past quarter, below forecasts.

(CercleFinance.com) - Swedish budget fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz said on Friday that its sales rose 5 percent in the past quarter, below the consensus of 7% growth.


H&M's fiscal third-quarter (from June to August) net sales, including sales tax, amounted to 59.4 billion Swedish kronor, compared with a 56.8 billion kronor a year ago.

H&M - which recently decided that it would no longer issue monthly sales numbers - said quarterly sales were affected by significantly larger summer sales this year.

"The summer's aggressive mark-downs led to an improved inventory position and good conditions for the incoming autumn garments," the group said.

However, H&M added that it helped sales of the autumn collections get off to a good start.

Its shares, listed on the Nasdaq Nordic market, were up 1.6% at 216.9 Swedish kronor after the news.

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