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Zara owner Inditex increases profits by 22 percent in 2012

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Textil group Inditex increased profits by 22 percent from February 2012 to January 2013 to 2.361 billion euros (3.063 billion U.S. dollars), the Spanish company reported on Wednesday.

Inditex, which is the world's largest clothing retailer, saw a 16-percent increase in sales that amounted to 15.946 billion euros, thanks to its expansion in China and Latin America.

Asia as a whole represented 20 percent of the company's invoicing, America took 14 percent, while Europe sales - without taken Spain into account - remained stable representing 45 percent of the total.

Spain, seriously hit by the economic crisis, represented 21 percent of the group's invoicing in 2012 compared to the 25 percent of the previous issue.

The company's president, Pablo Isla, announced that the group will not open new stores in Spain, because sales decreased by 5 percent in 2012 due to the sales tax raise.

The Spaniard's decreasing purchasing power is also causing a contraction of domestic demands.

Inditex was able to overcome this contraction in its home country thanks to its expansion overseas and by the end of its fiscal year it had 6,009 stores in 86 different countries, along with virtual stores in 23 markets.

All chains from Inditex obtained profits, with the most famous one, Zara, registering an 18 percent increase.

Pull&Bear and Bershka saw a 13-percent increase, Massimo Dutti 12 percent, Stradivarius and Zara Home 10 percent, while Uterque and Oysho saw their profits increase by 9 and 1 percent respectively.

Inditex also announced they created 10,.802 new jobs worldwide, 500 in Spain, which leaves the company with a total workforce of 120,314 workers.

For 2013, Inditex is expected to invest around 1.250 billion euros in order to open more stores, while modifying those already established.

Last week saw Inditex founder, Amancio Ortega, to become the third richest man in the world according to the magazine "Forbes." Endite