By Andrea Figueras


H&M Hennes & Mauritz said Chief Executive Helena Helmersson was stepping down after four years in the top job and will be replaced by the head of the Swedish retailing giant's core H&M brand, effective immediately.

Daniel Erver, an 18-year H&M veteran, will retain responsibility for the H&M brand as well as serving as CEO and president of the wider group.

Helmersson has spent 26 years at H&M, the last four leading the group. She has faced heightened competition from old rivals, like Zara owner Inditex, and new, mostly online brands like China's Shein.

H&M said Wednesday that group sales from Dec. 1 to Jan. 29, which includes the key Christmas period, decreased by 4% in local currencies compared with the same period the previous year.

Negative effects from price reductions on sales in the first quarter are expected to increase by 1 percentage point compared with the year-ago period, it said. This is due to the late arrival of normal fall weather in the fourth quarter, which left a relatively brief window of time to sell the fall assortment, the company said.

H&M also said that it swung to a net profit of 1.59 billion Swedish kronor ($152.7 million) for its fiscal fourth quarter ended Nov. 30 from a net loss of SEK864 million in the year-earlier period. However, analysts had forecast a net profit of SEK3.19 billion for the period, according to a FactSet-compiled poll of estimates.

Profit a year earlier was hurt by higher costs and the wind-down of its profitable business in Russia, after it decided to exit the country due to the war in Ukraine.

Sales for the quarter were flat on year at SEK62.65 billion, up from SEK62.63 billion in the third quarter but missing analysts' forecasts of SEK62.9 billion, according to a FactSet data.

H&M backed its target for fiscal 2024 of a 10% operating margin and said it expects profitability to exceed this over time.

It also said that a 10% to 15% increase in sales a year with continued high profitability remains a long-term target.

The retailer said it will maintain its dividend of SEK6.50 at share.

At 0859 GMT, shares were 7.9% lower at SEK155.02.


Write to Andrea Figueras at andrea.figueras@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

01-31-24 0416ET