Inditex First-Half Profit Rises on Zara Owner’s Store Expansion

MADRID, Spain — Inditex SA, the world's largest clothing retailer, reported first-half profit that matched analysts' estimates as the Zara owner added more shops and online businesses.

Net income rose 26 percent to 1.17 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in the six months through July, Arteixo, Spain-based Inditex said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. Analysts expected 1.16 billion euros, according to the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue rose 16 percent in the start of this quarter, excluding currency shifts.

Inditex has opened more than 400 stores annually on average over the past five years. The 3.1 percent growth that economists forecast for Spain's gross domestic product this year is bolstering sales in a market where Zara sells 129-euro leather jackets and 30-euro turtleneck sweaters.

Unlike rival Hennes & Mauritz AB, which has a bigger reliance on dollar-denominated garments sewn in Asia, Inditex benefits from a stronger dollar.

The dollar was on average 24 percent higher against the euro during Inditex’s first half.

By Rodrigo Orihuela; editors: Matthew Boyle, Thomas Mulier, Charles Penty.