Inditex 9-Month Net Profit Edges Higher on Strong Expansion

MADRID--Spanish retailer Inditex SA's (ITX.MC) nine-month net profit rose 1% on year as the company opened more stores and online operations in Russia, it said on Wednesday.

Net profit in the nine months ended Oct. 31 rose to 1.67 billion euros from EUR1.66 billion in 2012, the owner of Zara stores and Spain's largest company by market value said. Inditex's fiscal year ends Jan. 31.

Sales rose 5% to EUR11.93 billion euros and were weighed down by currency effects. Sales would have been up 8% without these. Sales excluding the impact of currency fluctuations between Nov. 1 and Dec. 8 increased 10%--an indication growth is accelerating, the company added.

Inditex plans to open around 500 new stores for the full year--roughly in line with previous estimates. As of Oct. 31 Inditex had 6,249 stores world-wide--up from 5,887.

It also plans to launch online Zara stores in Mexico and South Korea in the next fiscal year, the company said.

Write to David Roman at [e-mail]

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