Overall sales of the Swedish clothing and accessories group H&M grew by 6% in 2022, and excluding the markets of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, they increased by another 8%. Overall, the group’s financial performance was impacted by a reduction in its activities in Russia during the previous year due to the war in Ukraine, as well as a sharp increase in the cost of energy, freight and textiles. In the last quarter of 2022, sales remained at the same level, and excluding Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, growth was 2%. However, fourth-quarter earnings declined significantly in part due to energy, freight and textile prices, the company said. moneyreview.gr. In particular, operating profit fell 87% to SEK 821m, much lower than analysts’ estimates.

“While 2022 was a turbulent year due to negative external factors such as geopolitical challenges and fairly high inflation, our sales grew by 6% year on year,” said Group CEO Helena Helmerson, referring to in particular, the war in Ukraine and its impact on the international economy. Also, have you noticed the following? “Our decision to reduce our operations in Russia, which has been an important and profitable market, has had a dramatic negative impact on our results.” Helmerson also cited rising raw material and freight costs, combined with the value of the US dollar, resulting in high costs. “Instead of passing the full cost on to consumers, we are choosing to further strengthen our market position,” he added. “External factors that negatively impacted costs are gradually disappearing and are expected to positively influence results in the second half of 2023. The costs for orders placed now are already lower compared to the same period last year. In addition, the second half of the year will benefit from the cost reduction and efficiency improvement program, which is expected to generate annual savings of SEK 2 billion,” concluded Helena Helmerson.