 "People wait for Zara to open its doors for its Black Friday sale on November 29, 2024 in New York City. AFP")
Zara owner Inditex posted Wednesday another record quarterly profit but it was lower than expected as sales slowed, causing shares in the world’s biggest fashion retailer to sink.
The Spanish group, whose other brands include Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Bershka, reported a profit after tax of 1.68 billion euros ($1.77 billion) for the third quarter, up six percent from the same period last year.
While it beat its record for a single quarter, it was lower than the net profit of 1.77 billion euros forecast by analysts surveyed by financial data firm FactSet.
For the first nine months of 2024, Inditex said net profit reached 4.45 billion euros compared to 4.1 billion euros over the period last year.
Sales grew seven percent to 27.4 billion euros over the nine-month period ending October 31.
“Inditex continued with a very robust operating performance due to the creativity of the teams and the strong execution of the fully integrated store and online business model,” it said in a statement.
The company also reported sales growth of nine percent at the start of the fourth quarter between November 1 and December 9.
But the company’s results “did not live up to expectations”, said Spanish financial services firm Bankinter in a research note.
Inditex’s operating costs rose faster than sales growth in the nine-month period, Bankinter said.
Shares in the company fell almost six percent on Madrid stock exchange at around midday.