Like-for-like sales have grown by 4.5%. Its revenue, affected by the trends in exchange rates, came to €8085m, with a year-on-year increase of 6%. The group has seen growth in all its geographic markets. Net profit was down from €951m for the same period in 2013, to €928m this period.
The employment generation for the group continued, with 8000 new jobs during the last year, of which 1200 were in Spain. Some of this is due to its investment policy as regards the expansion of corporate facilities.
The group had 6460 stores in 88 markets after the first half of 2014, with 120 net opening across 40 different markets.
This period saw all its fashion concepts opening flagship stores. Zara saw new openings in Hong Kong, Madrid, Zurich, Krakow and Miami. Important new Pull&Bear stores were opened in Marseille, Venice, Paris, Istanbul and Jakarta, with flagships in Amsterdam and Milan in the spotlight. Massimo Dutti opened designer stores in Amsterdam, Palma de Mallorca, Budapest, Toronto and Beijing.
Zara Home opened stores in areas such as Athens, Rio de Janeiro, London and Tokyo. The main openings for Stradivarius and Bershka were in Jakarta, Marseille, Istanbul, St Petersburg and Nagoya. At the end of this period, the group had online stores in 25 markets, with Mexico being added on September 3.
The company is set to pay a final ordinary dividend, with a bonus dividend totaling €0.242 per share before tax on November 3. This brings the total 2013 profit dividend to €0.484 per share.
