Zara owner Inditex almost triples FY net profit

Fashion giant Inditex has almost tripled its full-year net profit in fiscal 2021 as sales surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

The group, which owns brands Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear, reported net income of 3.2 billion euros in the year to January 31, an increase of 193 percent compared to the prior year.

Net sales came in at 27.7 billion euros, up 37 percent in constant currency compared to 2020, and up 3 percent compared to pre-Covid 2019 levels.

The group’s online sales performed particularly well, up 14 percent year-over-year to reach 7.5 billion euros, and representing 25.5 percent of total annual sales. By 2024, it expects online sales to account for more than 30 percent of annual sales.

Omicron impacts Q4 sales

While the company recovered well from the pandemic during the year, the fourth quarter was impacted significantly by the spread of the Omnicron variant, and the restrictions in most markets including Austria, The Netherlands, Germany, Japan, China and the Philippines.

Inditex said this sudden drop in store sales generated a one-off impact of 400 million euros in the fourth quarter.

The group also revealed Wednesday that its current trading has been strong, with store and online sales in constant currency for the period of February 1 to March 13 up 33 percent compared to 2021 levels and up 21 percent compared to 2019 levels. Russia and Ukraine represented around 5 percent of its sales growth in the period.

Earlier this month, Inditex announced it would be closing all 502 of its stores in Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.