H&M posts surprise Q1 profit as Sellpy platform boosts earnings

Swedish fashion retailer H&M reported a better-than-expected first quarter profit, boosted by its Sellpy second-hand platform.

The world's second-biggest fashion retailer posted an operating profit of 725 million Swedish kronor for the three months to February compared to a profit of SEK 458m a year earlier and average forecast of a SEK 1.1bn loss.

Consolidating the earnings of Sellpy boosted earnings by about SEK 1bn as cost-conscious consumers hunted for bargains amid the cost-of-living crisis.

"The external factors that influence purchasing costs continue to improve, work on the cost and efficiency programme is proceeding at full speed, and many of the changes that we have made in recent years are starting to have an effect," said chief executive Helena Helmersson.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com