Stockholm — Swedish fashion retailer H&M reported a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter pre-tax profit on Friday as it sold more products at full price and saw an improvement in margins. H&M, the world’s biggest apparel retailer after Zara owner Inditex, has seen profits shrink and stocks pile up in recent years due to slowing footfall at its core-brand stores in the face of digitalisation of the sector, mounting competition and not reacting fast enough to demand swings. The retailer’s pre-tax profit fell for the seventh straight quarter in December to February, to 1.04-billion Swedish krona ($112m). This is down from 1.26-billion a year ago, but well ahead of the 708-million forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts. H&M’s heavy investment in logistics, the integration of stores and online, and a review of its stores and brands to get back on track has been squeezing margins. However, in the first quarter, the gross margin edged up to 50%, from 49.9% a year ago, defying foreca...
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