The Swedish retailer reports a 3.3% drop in krona-denominated net sales for the quarter, citing a stronger local currency.
H&M posted Q2 net sales of $5.64bn (Skr54.82bn), down from Skr56.71bn a year earlier, as a stronger Swedish krona shaved nearly three percentage points off reported figures. Underlying sales in local currencies remained broadly flat, while store count declined by 3% year-over-year.
Gross profit fell to Skr31.04bn from Skr31.42bn, though gross margin improved to 56.6% from 55.4%. Operating profit held steady at Skr5.913bn, with operating margin rising to 10.8% from 10.4%. Profit for the period was nearly unchanged at Skr3.962bn.
For the first half, net sales totaled Skr104.43bn, a 6.8% decline in krona terms but just 1% lower in local currencies. Operating profit rose to Skr7.42bn from Skr7.11bn, with margin expanding to 7.1% from 6.4%.