Inditex sales fall short of expectations, while Zara-owner plans higher dividend - MarketWatch

Zara-owner Industria de Diseno Textil SA said Wednesday that sales momentum has continued at the beginning of its fiscal year, and that it will pay a higher dividend for its fiscal 2022.

The Spanish fashion group, known as Inditex ITX, -1.69%, posted sales of 9.51 billion euros ($10.21 billion) for the fiscal year's final three months to Jan. 31 compared with EUR8.39 billion in the same period the previous year. This fell just short of analysts' expectations of EUR9.65 billion, according to a FactSet-compiled poll of forecasts.

Sales for the year rose to EUR32.57 billion from EUR27.72 billion.

Earnings before interest and taxes totaled EUR5.52 billion, up from EUR4.28 billion previously, while net profit rose to EUR4.13 billion. The operating margin increased to 16.9% from 15.5%, while the gross margin was slightly down at 57% Inditex said.

The group said sales increased 17.5% in the first weeks of the new fiscal year, adjusted for currency effects and the exit from Russia and Ukraine. It plans investment in its store network, with increased gross space this year, while the gross margin should remain stable.

For fiscal 2022, Inditex will propose a dividend of EUR1.20 a share, up 29% from the previous year.

Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby