Inditex breaks another half-year record. The textile company recorded a profit of 2,768 million euros in the first half of 2024, or 10.1%, while Its turnover increased by 7.2% to 18,065 million euros, as reported this Wednesday by the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
Despite breaking records, this growth is below expectations. Last year, it increased its profits and turnover by 40.1% and 13.5%. This time, growth is more moderate.
Gross margin increases by 7.5% to 10,541 million eurosand stands at 58.3% of revenue (+19 basis points compared to the first half of 2023). For its part, operating profit (Ebitda) increased by 8.1% and stood at 5,040 million euros.
“The design and quality of our fashion proposition and the experience we offer to our customers are, together with the efficiency and increasing sustainability of our operations, the keys to the strength of these results. “Our fully integrated model continues to generate profitable growth opportunities across all concepts, regions and channels,” he says. Oscar Garcia Maceiras, CEO.
The company founded by Amancio Ortega opened in 34 markets. At the end of the period, Inditex operated 5,667 stores.
Due to the strong operational performance during the first half, inventories decreased by 1.7% as of July 31, 2024 compared to the same date last year. The inventory is considered to be of high quality.
Forecasts
According to the company, the Fall/Winter campaign collections “have been very well received by our customers.”
In-store sales and online at constant exchange rates between August 1 and September 8, 2024 They increased by 11% compared to the same period in 2023.
A Zara store, in an archive photo.
Inditex continues to see great growth opportunities. The owner of Zara acknowledges being present in 214 markets, but “with a small share in each of them and in a very fragmented sectorSo we see strong growth opportunities.
He Gross annual growth in space over the period 2024-26 is estimated at around 5%.. Inditex expects a positive contribution of space to annual sales in this period, in conjunction with a strong evolution of online sales. And it emphasizes that “the process of optimizing stores is an ongoing task.”
Inditex is making investments to increase its operational capacity, achieve efficiency gains and increase its differentiation to a higher level. Thus, they estimate some ordinary investments of around 1.8 billion euros in 2024.
Likewise, it is implementing a logistics expansion plan in 2024 and 2025. This extraordinary two-year investment program focused on business expansion allocates 900 million euros to increase logistics capacity in each of the years 2024 and 2025.
Dividend and nominations
The balance of the dividend for the 2023 financial year (0.77 euros per share) will be paid on November 4, 2024.
The Board of Directors of Inditex, on the proposal of the Nomination Committee, has approved the upcoming incorporation into its Management Committee of Antonio Flórez de la Fuente, director of Bershka since 2018 and with the company since 1991, and of Jordi Triquell Valls, director of Stradivarius since the brand joined the Group in 1999.
