Fashion retailer H&M posts surprise Dec-Feb profit

The company said consolidating the earnings of its Sellpy second-hand platform had boosted earnings by about 1 billion crowns (€88.5m)(Photo by NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/Belga/AFP via Getty Images)

H&M, the world's second-biggest fashion retailer, reported on Thursday a surprise operating profit for the December-February period, despite weak demand as consumers curtailed spending amid soaring inflation.

Operating profit in the Swedish group's fiscal first quarter was 725 million Swedish crowns (€64.3m) against a profit of 458 million (€40.53m) a year earlier and a mean forecast of 1.10 billion loss (€97.35m) in a Refinitiv poll of analysts.