Spain's Inditex, the world's biggest clothing retailer, has reported a 68% rise in first-half net profit as its aggressive expansion abroad, especially in Asia, paid off.
The owner of Zara reported a better than expected net profit for the six months to July of €628m, up from €374.8m during the same period last year.
Inditex, whose other brands include youth label Bershka and the upmarket Massimo Dutti, posted sales of €5.53 billion, up 14%.
The company reduced its reliance on its domestic market Spain, which is struggling to emerge from its worst recession in decades, while Asian and other European markets expanded their share of total sales thanks to a rapid pace of new store openings.
Spain accounted for 28% of store sales during the period compared with 32% a year earlier while Asian markets contributed 15%, up from 12%. European countries outside Spain accounted for 45% of total sales.
Inditex opened 173 stores in 37 countries during the six months period, including its first in fast-growing India, bringing its worldwide total to 4,780 stores in 77 countries at the end of July.
