1Q18 Sales Update

Swedish fashion group H&M previously reported monthly sales, but now provides only quarterly updates. On March 15,the company reported its third such quarterly sales update. H&M reported that total sales growth was flat in constant-currency terms in the first quarter ended February 28, 2018. Sales excluding VAT declined by 1.7% in reporting currency, to SEK46,181 million, slightly below the consensus estimate of SEK47,052 million. Sales including VAT fell by 1.5% in reporting currency, to SEK53,554 million. The total number of stores grew by 8.0% year over year, to 4,743, as of February 28, 2018.In December 2017, H&M reported that e-commerce sales accounted for 13% of its total sales in its most recent fiscal year. H&M did not provide further information on sales performance during the quarter, unlike in previous trading update releases. During H&M’s FY17 results update, management noted that it needs to accelerate its transformation, which includes the continued integration of physical and digital stores and opening fewer stores. The company noted that the above sales figures are provisional and may deviate slightly from the quarterly results it will publish on March 27, 2018.