Inditex: Zara owner posts in-line results; shares weaker.
(CercleFinance.com) - Spain's Inditex, owner of clothing retailer Zara, reported in-line quarterly results on Wednesday, sending the shares slightly down in early trading in Madrid.
Net income increased 18% to reach 654 million euros in the first-quarter that closed in April, on sales up 14 per cent to 5.6 billion euros against a forecast of 5.5 billion.
Gross margin increased 100 basis points compared with the same quarter last year, reaching 58.2% of sales compared with 58.1% in the first quarter of 2016.
Analysts at Bryan Garnier — who have a "buy" rating on the shares with a "fair value" of 38 euros — cite a "satisfactory trading update".
"This performance was achieved on top of difficult market conditions in many countries (such as UK, France, and Germany) but it is worth noting that retail trends in Spain (around 19% of sales) remained quite good," the brokerage firm commented.
The company now operates 7,385 stores after 93 net openings in the past quarter.
Its shares fell 0.3 per cent to 35.8 euros versus a 0.7 per cent gain in the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Retail index.
Copyright (c) 2017 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.
Net income increased 18% to reach 654 million euros in the first-quarter that closed in April, on sales up 14 per cent to 5.6 billion euros against a forecast of 5.5 billion.
Gross margin increased 100 basis points compared with the same quarter last year, reaching 58.2% of sales compared with 58.1% in the first quarter of 2016.
Analysts at Bryan Garnier — who have a "buy" rating on the shares with a "fair value" of 38 euros — cite a "satisfactory trading update".
"This performance was achieved on top of difficult market conditions in many countries (such as UK, France, and Germany) but it is worth noting that retail trends in Spain (around 19% of sales) remained quite good," the brokerage firm commented.
The company now operates 7,385 stores after 93 net openings in the past quarter.
Its shares fell 0.3 per cent to 35.8 euros versus a 0.7 per cent gain in the STOXX Europe 600 Optimised Retail index.
Copyright (c) 2017 CercleFinance.com. All rights reserved.