<div id="subtitle">H&M 4Q profit rises 21 percent due to store expansion, comparable sales weak</div><div><p>Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz AB on Thursday reported a 21 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit, as new store openings helped it defy the weak market.</p><p>Europe's No. 2 fashion retailer said net profit in the three months to Nov. 30, its fiscal fourth quarter, increased to 6.2 billion kronor ($851 million) from 5.1 billion in the same period a year ago.</p><p>Sales, excluding VAT, rose 6.5 percent to 28 billion kronor ($3.84 billion) from 26.3 billion and the gross margin was 66.3 percent, up from 62.4 percent in the fourth quarter 2008.</p><p>The result beat analysts' expectations and sent up H&M shares 7.4 percent to 432.2 kronor ($59.2) in early trading on the Stockholm stock exchange. A Six Estimates poll published by Dagens Industri had forecast sales of 27.8 billion kronor ($3.81 billion) and a gross margin of 62.6 percent.</p><p>The company said sales in local currencies increased by 3 percent and fell by 6 percent when excluding the impact of new store openings.</p><p>"The weak sales increase is mainly explained by continued recession with restrained consumption, a discount-driven market and mild weather during the autumn which had a negative effect on sales of weather dependent garments such as jackets and heavy knitwear," H&M said in a statement.</p><p>It said the rate of store expansion during the year was higher than originally planned, mainly because the economic downturn provided opportunities for new store projects.</p><p>H&M had 1,988 stores at the end of November, up from 1,738 a year earlier.</p><p>It said it will open another 240 new stores in the coming year, most of which will be in the U.S., the U.K., China, France, Germany and Italy.</p><p>Full year net profit rose by 7 percent to 16.4 billion kronor ($2.3 billion) while full year sales climbed 15 percent to 101.4 billion kronor ($14 billion).</p><p>H&M proposed to raise the dividend per share to 16 kronor ($2.2) from 15.5 last year.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=67952265&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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