H&M Tops Profit Estimates, Plans 400 New Stores

Hennes & Mauritz AB, Europe's second-biggest clothing retailer, reported fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates as the company added stores in China and the U.S. and expanded its collection. Net income rose to 6.22 billion kronor ($760 million) in the three months through November, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement today. This year "has gotten off to a good start, with strong sales in both December and January," H&M CEO Karl-Johan Persson said in the statement. The stronger U.S. dollar will affect the company's sourcing costs, he added.