Zara owner Inditex reported on Wednesday its net profit fell 70 per cent in 2020 to €1.1 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 per cent to €435 million out of sales of €6.3 billion as restrictions on shopping came back into force across much of Europe around Christmas, the company said.

Around 15 per cent of its shops worldwide were still closed due to Covid-19 restrictions as of March 8th, Inditex said in a statement.

The Spanish fast fashion retailer, which operates 6,829 stores worldwide, said total sales in 2020 were down 28 per cent from last year at €20.4 billion, as an unprecedented 77 per cent of online sales increase partly offset the pandemic’s negative effects. - Reuters