H&M posted weaker than-expected profit in its first quarter, joining other fast-fashion retailers that are struggling to attract shoppers. Early numbers for the current quarter show the trend continuing, albeit with some improvement.

Operating profit for the three months ended February 28 was 1.2 billion Swedish kronor (€111 million), H&M said on Thursday, missing analysts’ estimate of 1.9 billion kronor. Net sales reached 55.3 billion, below the 55.8 billion kronor analysts had expected.

Chief executive Daniel Erver, a company-veteran who took the top job in January last year, has struggled to revive top-line growth and rebuild faith in the Swedish retailer’s midterm growth target for earnings before interest and taxes of 10 per cent. The latest quarter shows that his efforts to claw out of the company’s troubles through higher marketing spending has not brought the sustainable sales boost analysts had hoped for.

Earlier this month, rival Inditex — the owner of sector-darling Zara — reported a disappointing start to the year, feeling the impact of cuts in consumer spending amid a slowdown in large parts of the global economy. The world’s largest listed clothing retailer saw its share plunge on the report.

H&M, controlled by Sweden’s Persson family, said preliminary sales figure for March shows an increase by 1 per cent in local currencies compared to same month the previous year.

The company said negative effect from external factors, increased markdowns and investments in the customer offering is estimated to already be significantly smaller in the second quarter than in the first quarter. -- Bloomberg