ARTEIXO (AFP) – Zara owner Inditex, the world’s biggest fashion retailer, promised shareholders a record dividend yesterday after posting its highest-ever profits last year despite a complicated global backdrop.
The fashion giant, which has seen a strong performance on Spain’s stock market over the past year, posted net profits of EUR5.4 billion (USD5.9 billion), up 30 per cent from EUR4.1 billion in 2022 which was also a record.
The figure, which follows a solid fourth quarter, was in line with the expectations of analysts polled by financial data firm FactSet, who predicted profits of EUR5.36 billion.
Inditex has been able “to take advantage of the opportunities to keep growing profitably”, said chief executive Oscar Garcia Maceiras of the company which is based in the northwestern Galicia region.
The group, which since early 2022 has been headed by Marta Ortega, daughter of multi-billionaire founder Amancio Ortega, pointed to dynamic sales which hit a record EUR35.9 billion in 2023, a 10.4 per cent increase from the previous year.
Inditex, whose eight brands include Pull&Bear and upmarket label Massimo Dutti, notably benefited from consumers’ taste for shopping online which rose by 16 per cent to reach EUR9.1 billion.
