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Industria de Diseno Textil SA on Wednesday backed its outlook for the full year, as sales growth slowed in the third quarter but earnings were boosted by good cost control.
The Spanish fashion giant
ITX,
owner of Zara among other brands, booked earnings before interest and taxes of 4.18 billion euros ($4.44 billion) in the nine months to Oct. 31, compared with EUR3.29 billion in the same period the previous fiscal year. This implies third-quarter EBIT of some EUR1.78 billion, ahead of analysts’ expectations for EUR1.72 billion, according to a poll of estimates compiled by FactSet.
The operating margin rose more than 1 point to 18.1% as costs were kept below sales growth, Inditex said. The gross margin meanwhile slipped slightly to 58.7%.
Sales rose 20% to EUR23.06 billion, implying third-quarter sales of around EUR8.3 billion. Analysts had forecast quarterly sales of EUR8.05 billion, according to FactSet.
In the first half of the fiscal year, Inditex booked 25% growth in sales.
The group said it still expects a stable gross margin for the full year, with a neutral currency effect.
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
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