Inditex’s sales in the full year ending Feb.1 grew by 7.5 percent to reach €38.6 billion, thanks to “very satisfactory development both in stores and online.” Sales in constant currency grew by 10.5 percent.
But, sales growth slowed down in the opening weeks of the new fiscal year.
In fiscal 2024, store sales grew by 5.9 percent reflecting incremental footfall and increasing productivity. “The higher level of store sales has been achieved with 2.0 percent more commercial space and 2.3 percent less stores than in 2023,” Inditex said in a statement. In 2024, gross new space increased by 5.8 percent to 4,650,575 square meters. At the end of 2024, Inditex operated 5,563 stores.
Gross profit increased by 7.6 percent to €22.3 billion and the gross margin reached 57.8 percent. Ebitda grew by 8.9 percent to €10.7 billion and Ebit advanced by 11.0 percent to €7.6 billion.
Net income grew by 9.0 percent to €5.9 billion.
The group’s net cash position was up by 0.8 percent to €11.5 billion.
Inditex plans a full-year dividend increase of 9 percent to €1.68 per share, composed of an ordinary dividend of €1.13 and a bonus dividend of €0.55 per share.
Inditex added that its spring/summer collections have been well received by customers.
Store and online sales in constant currency, adjusted for the calendar effect of an extra trading day in February 2024 due to the leap year, increased by 4 percent year-on-year between Feb. 1 and March 10. In the last commercial week, store and online sales in constant currency grew by 7 percent.
“The sales slowdown for Inditex implies that some of its customers are either worried about their finances, the economy or both,” said Russ Mould, Investment Director at the broker AJ Bell.
Inditex expressed its “strong commitment to profitable growth.” The increase in annual gross space in the period 2025-2026 is expected to be around 5 percent, it added.
The company anticipates an ordinary capital expenditure of around €1.8 billion in 2025. “This investment will be mainly dedicated to the optimization of our commercial space, its technological integration and the improvement of our online platforms,” it commented.
Meanwhile, a two-year extraordinary investment program allocated €900 million per year to increase logistics capacities in each of the 2024 and 2025 financial years.
For 2025, Inditex expects a negative 1 percent currency impact on sales. It also anticipates a stable gross margin.
This article first appeared in our sister publication Shoe Intelligence.
