Inditex reports 30% rise on Q1 profits

Inditex rose the most in two years in Madrid yesterday, retaking the crown as Spain’s largest company, after the clothing retailer, which owns Zara, reported a 30% gain in first-quarter profit.

The stock advanced as much as 10%, the biggest single day gain since May 10, 2010. The shares were 8.6% up at €73.42. That gave the owner of the Zara chain a market value of €45.8bn, compared with €44.5bn for Telefonica.

Net income rose to €432m in the three months through April, the Arteixo, Spain-based company said yesterday. Analysts’ had estimated a figure of €381m. Inditex, the world’s largest clothing retailer, is adding stores in emerging markets and expanding its online offering to offset weaker consumer spending in its debt-ravaged home country.

“With what’s going on in the eurozone, it’s amazing to beat estimates on better like-for-like sales,” said Anne Critchlow, an analyst at Societe Generale in London who has a buy recommendation on the stock.

Bloomberg