Inditex, the parent company of the Zara ready-to-wear chain, reported on Wednesday a "solid" operating performance for its first quarter and better-than-expected sales for the start of its spring-summer season.

Europe's leading clothing retailer said it generated sales up 7.1% to 8.2 billion euros in the three months to the end of April, including growth of 10.6% at constant exchange rates.

Gross operating profit (Ebitda) rose by 8% to 2.4 billion euros, with net income up 10.8% to 1.3 billion euros.

While these figures were broadly in line with market expectations, the group stressed that its spring-summer collections had been "very well received" by customers.

At constant exchange rates, sales between May 1 and June 3 were up 12% on the same period last year.

"This suggests that the group benefited from a catch-up effect after a particularly cool and rainy start to spring in southern Europe", explained analysts at RBC.

Inditex, which is proposing a dividend of 1.54 euros per share, is currently trading on the basis of a P/E of around 24x, in line with its historical average, noted the Canadian broker.

The market seemed to appreciate these announcements in any case, as the share climbed almost 5% on Wednesday morning on the Madrid stock exchange following this publication.

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