Parent of Spain's Zara Chain Reports Profit and Sales Boost

The world's number one clothing group, Inditex, owner of the Zara brand, said on Wednesday it had leveraged its expanding international operations to boost sales and net profit.

Sales for the Spanish group, now present in 85 countries, climbed 15 percent from the figure for the same period a year earlier to 3.416 billion euros ($4.3 billion) in the three months to the end of April.

Net profit surged 30 percent to 432 million euros, it said in a statement. The result beat market expectations, said Dow Jones Neswires, citing a Factset forecast for a net profit of 379 million euros.

The Spanish group has profited from a strategy of global expansion, especially in Asia, and last year recorded the biggest profits in the textile sector.

In the latest quarter, Inditex opened 91 new stores, bringing the total to 5,618.

It plans to open an on-line shop in China in September 2012, the company said.

Inditex said same-store sales from February 1 to June 10 this year grew 14 percent from a year earlier, a potentially promising sign for the group's second quarter results.