H&M eyes expansion as profits rise

Swedish clothing giant Hennes and Mauritz (H&M) on Thursday reported a jump in net profit last year and announced plans to expand further into new markets, including online.

Buoyed by a hike in sales, the company, whose fiscal year runs from December 2014 to November 2015, said net profit rose by four percent to 20.9 billion kronor (2.3 billion euros, $2.5 billion).

However, Europe's unusually mild autumn weather held back fourth-quarter trade, when net profit fell 11 percent, the company said in a statement.

H&M said it planned more than 400 new stores for the coming financial year, mostly in markets where the group is already present.

"New Zealand, Cyprus and Puerto Rico are planned to become new H&M markets.

"In addition, H&M plans to offer e-commerce in a further nine existing H&M markets," it added.