H & M HENNES & MAURITZ AB FULL-YEAR REPORT

1 December 2010 – 30 November 2011

FULL-YEAR

• The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased in local currencies by 8 percent during the financial year. Sales in comparable units decreased by 1 percent. Sales in SEK were strongly negatively affected by currency translation effects. Converted into SEK, sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 109,999 m (108,483).
• Gross profit amounted to SEK 66,147 m (68,269), corresponding to a gross margin of 60.1 percent (62.9).
• Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 20,942 m (25,008). Of this year’s profit decrease compared to the previous year, approximately SEK 1.5 billion in total is due to negative currency translation effects and the item affecting comparability relating to the H&M Incentive Program.
• Group profit after tax was SEK 15,821 m (18,681), corresponding to SEK 9.56 (11.29) per share.
• Strong expansion during the year. The Group opened 266 (218) new stores net. China, the US, the UK and Germany were the largest expansion markets.

THE FOURTH QUARTER

• The H&M Group’s sales including VAT increased by 6 percent in local currencies in the fourth quarter. Sales in comparable units decreased by 3 percent. Converted into SEK, sales excluding VAT amounted to SEK 30,952 m (29,711).
• Gross profit amounted to SEK 19,150 m (18,792), corresponding to a gross margin of 61.9 percent (63.2).
• Profit after financial items amounted to SEK 6,802 m (7,178). Group profit after tax amounted to
  SEK 5,357 m (5,487), corresponding to SEK 3.24 (3.32) per share.

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• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 9.50 (9.50) per share for the financial year 2010/2011.
• Sales in December 2011 increased by 13 percent in local currencies compared to the same month the previous year. Sales in comparable units increased by 4 percent.
• Sales in the period 1–24 January 2012 increased by 12 percent in local currencies compared to the same period last year.
• H&M plans a net addition of around 275 stores for the financial year 2011/2012.
• Bulgaria, Latvia, Malaysia and Thailand will become new H&M markets in 2012. In addition to these countries, H&M plans to expand into Mexico in autumn 2012.
• The first COS stores in Hong Kong, Italy, Finland and Kuwait are planned to open in 2012.
  
  

Comments on the full-year by Karl-Johan Persson, CEO

“H&M stands strong in a challenging market. We increased sales by 8 percent in local currencies and continued to gain market share during what was one of the toughest years for a long time for the fashion retail industry in many countries. The fact that we have gained market share, proves that our customers appreciate our collections, which offer a wide range of inspiring fashion for everyone.

The situation in the sourcing markets has also been challenging. Cost inflation has been high resulting in increased purchasing costs for the fashion retail industry. Despite increased purchasing costs, we chose a strategy of strengthening our customer offering and market position even further relative to competitors. The investments have varied over time and have involved everything from even better prices to even higher quality and more sustainable materials. We are convinced that this will gradually become more evident to customers and will strengthen H&M’s already strong market position even further.

Our strong expansion continued during the year. We opened 266 new stores net, five new markets were added and we created around 7,000 new jobs. Today we have a strong global presence with around 2,500 stores in 43 markets and more than 94,000 employees.

We are also planning for a strong expansion in 2012 with approximately 275 new stores net. The countries in which we will open the most stores during the year are China, the US and the UK. Bulgaria, Latvia, Malaysia and Thailand will become new H&M markets. We also plan to open in Mexico during the autumn 2012, it will be our first store in Latin America. This will make a total of 10 new H&M markets over a period of two years. Expansion will also continue within our other brands such as COS and Monki, including the opening of the first COS stores in Hong Kong, Italy, Finland and Kuwait.

The new year has started well, with strong sales development in both December and so far in January. Most indicators suggest that the macro-economic climate in many of our markets will continue to be tough during 2012, but we have a strong belief in our offering and are convinced that H&M will continue to maintain its strong position as the year goes on. We are looking forward to an exciting year full of opportunities.”

 
The information in this Full-year Report is that which H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) is required to disclose under Sweden’s Securities Market Act. It will be released for publication at 8.00 (CET) on 26 January 2012.

CONTACT PERSONS

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ)
SE-106 38 Stockholm
Phone: +46-8-796 55 00, Fax: +46-8-24 80 78, E-mail: info@hm.com
Registered office: Stockholm, Reg. No. 556042-7220
 

H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB (publ) was founded in Sweden in 1947 and is quoted on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm. The company’s business concept is to offer fashion and quality at the best price. In addition to H&M, the group includes the brands COS, Monki, Weekday and Cheap Monday as well as H&M Home. The H&M Group has around 2,500 stores in 43 markets including franchise markets. In 2011, sales including VAT were SEK 128,810 million and the number of employees was more than 94,000. For further information, visit www.hm.com.

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