Zara parent company boosted profit and sales

Spanish clothes retailer Inditex, has reported its net profit for the first fiscal quarter of 2016 rose 6 per cent, after global sales lifted by 12 per cent.

Inditex said profit for February through April was 554 million euros ($A843.61 million), up from 521 million euros for the same period last year.

The company’s shares were up 2.7 per cent at 28.74 euros in Wednesday morning trading in Madrid.

The company said sales reached 4.88 billion euros, a 12 per cent increase on the same period in 2015.

Inditex says it opened 72 new stores in the period for a total of 7085 and added 11,900 jobs in the process. During the first quarter, the retailer expanded its reach to 90 markets, having opened inaugural stores in Aruba and Nicaragua. At the end of the first-quarter, the Group reported 7085 physical stores.

Founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega, Inditex operates eight store brands including Massimo Dutti, Bershka and Oysho.