Zara owner Inditex reports jump in first quarter profit

Zara's parent company Inditex Group said its first-quarter net profit rose more than 28% to €521m, beating consensus of €510m. The Spanish group's revenues grew 17% to €4.37bn, driven by a solid business performance in all geographical areas.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the company said it had generated 8,580 new jobs in the past year, including 1,671 in Spain, which has one of the highest unemployment rates in the EU. It also announced it had approved a profit-sharing plan for employees who have been with the group for more than two years. They will be awarded 10% of the year-on-year growth in profit.

With 6,746 stores across 88 markets, the group continued to expand its presence in the first quarter, opening 63 net new stores in 27 different markets and new Zara stores in several countries including UK, China, Uruguay, US, Israel and Denmark. In addition, Zara announced it will launch its online sales platform in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao in time for the Autumn/Winter season.

The group's Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 14 July, when the board of directors is expected to as the company's shareholders to approve the payment of a total dividend from 2014 profits of €0.52 per share, €0.26 of which was already paid out on 4 May 2015.

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