H&M reported its lowest first-quarter profit in 16 years as the Swedish fashion retailer accumulated a record pile of unsold garments worth more than $4 billion (€3.2 billion). Operating profit fell 62 per cent in the three months through February, missing analysts’ estimates, as inventory rose to 17.6 per cent of annual sales. The stock dropped as much as 3.8 per cent after the company warned that markdowns will be higher this quarter because of the backlog. Adding new brandLast month, H&M forecast sales in comparable stores to drop this year and return to growth in fiscal 2019. – Bloomberg

Source: The Irish Times March 27, 2018 07:30 UTC