Shoppers carry Zara-branded bags on Passeig de Gracia in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022.
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Zara parent company Inditex on Wednesday reported a 27% rise in net profit in 2022, the first since founder Amancio Ortega’s daughter Marta Ortega took over the company. For the full year, sales exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
In-store and online sales of the world’s largest fashion retailer reached 32.6 billion euros ($34.99 billion), up 18% from last year’s 27.71 billion euros and 15% higher than in 2019 before the pandemic hit.
The company’s net income soared to 4.1 billion euros ($4.4 billion).
The fashion giant’s earnings were in line with analysts’ expectations as the company benefited from shoppers’ appetite for fashion in the post-Covid period.
In early spring Zara raised prices by 5% or more to ease inflation, according to analysts at Deutsche Bank, UBS and RBC. The move hasn’t dampened demand for its apparel.
Inditex’s strong results will quell initial investor concerns that Marta Ortega will succeed veteran Pablo Isla as non-executive chairman in April, a generational transition that began when her father retired a decade ago.