Zara owner Inditex reported on Wednesday its net profit fell 70% in 2020 to 1.1 billion euros ($1.31 billion), a steeper drop than expected, after a year of global lockdowns and dampened demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Fourth quarter net profit fell 53% to 435 million euros out of sales of 6.3 billion euros as restrictions on shopping came back into force across much of Europe around Christmas, the company said. Around 15% of its shops worldwide were still closed due to COVID-19 restrictions as of March 8, Inditex said in a statement.
Six analysts polled by Refinitiv expected a quarterly net profit of 602 million euros, while a poll of 24 analysts forecast full-year net profit at 1.3 billion euros.
The Spanish fast fashion retailer, which operates 6,829 stores worldwide, said total sales in 2020 were down 28% from last year at 20.4 billion euros, as an unprecedented 77% of online sales increase partly offset the pandemic's negative effects.