PARIS — Hennes & Mauritz AB reported revenues rose 18 percent in the third quarter, despite a sharp slowdown in sales in August.
Sales including VAT converted into Swedish krona totaled 53.4 billion kronor, or $6.33 billion, in the June 1 to Aug. 31 period, reflecting the continued weakness of the krona against most sales currencies in the group.
In local currency terms, sales including VAT rose by 11 percent in the quarter, the retailer said. Excluding VAT, sales totaled 46 billion kronor, or $5.45 billion, up 19 percent.
In August, H&M posted a 1 percent sales increase in local currencies compared with the same month the previous year, a sharp deterioration from the double-digit increases seen in July and June. This compared with a 19 percent increase in August 2014.
“Sales in August were negatively affected by the unseasonably warm weather in many of the H&M group’s large markets in Europe,” the company said. H&M is scheduled to publish results for the first nine months of the year on Sept. 24.
The fast-fashion giant had a total of 3,675 stores worldwide as of Aug. 31, versus 3,341 a year earlier.
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