Swedish fashion retailer H&M has reported net sales of Skr54.82bn ($5.64bn) for the second quarter ended 31 May 2026, compared with Skr56.71bn in the same period last year.
The retailer said trading in underlying terms was largely unchanged, with sales in local currencies broadly in line with the previous year.
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By the end of the quarter, the group had about 3% fewer stores than a year earlier.
Reported sales in Swedish krona were affected by currency translation, with the strengthening of the krona reducing the figure by just under three percentage points, the retailer said.
Gross profit for the quarter was Skr31.04bn, down from Skr31.42bn a year earlier. However, gross margin increased to 56.6% from 55.4% a year ago.
Operating profit was nearly unchanged at Skr5.913bn, compared with Skr5.914bn in the year-earlier period.
Operating margin improved slightly to 10.8% from 10.4% last year.
Profit for the period was Skr3.962bn, compared with Skr3.963bn a year earlier, while earnings per share rose marginally to Skr2.49 from Skr2.48.
For the first six months of the financial year, H&M posted net sales of Skr104.43bn, down from Skr112.04bn in the same period last year.
In local currencies, that represented a 1% decline.
Half-year gross profit totalled Skr56.18bn, against Skr58.59bn a year earlier, while gross margin rose to 53.8% from 52.3%.
Operating profit for the six months increased to Skr7.42bn from Skr7.11bn a year ago, and operating margin improved to 7.1% from 6.4%.
Profit for the half year was Skr4.66bn, up from Skr4.55bn in the previous year.
H&M ended the quarter with 4,038 stores worldwide, compared with 4,166 at the end of May 2025.
During the quarter, the company opened its first store in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and reopened its flagship store on Hamngatan in Stockholm, Sweden.
The retailer said the full-year sales impact from its store optimisation programme is expected to be slightly positive.
The group also said it intends to open its first store in Paraguay in the second half of 2026 and plans to enter Argentina in 2027.
H&M CEO Daniel Ervér said: “The improvements we have made in recent years have strengthened profitability, simplified operations and increased our ability to act closer to the customer.
“Centred on the customers’ needs, we continue to strengthen the product, customer experience and brand in order to always offer the best combination of fashion and quality at the best price, in a sustainable way.”
