shares in hm surged on thursday as the swedish clothing giant reported betterthanexpected earnings for its second quarter hm reported a net profit of 329 billion kronor 305 million for the marchtomay period it was down from 368 billion kronor the year before but above expectations of 284 billion kronor in a bloomberg survey of analysts around midday hm shares were up over 11 percent on the stockholm stock exchange the summer collections have been well received and the third quarter has got off to a good start the conditions for increased growth as well as profitability continue to develop in a favourable direction ceo helena helmersson said in a comment the company also reported a near five percent drop in operating profit to 474 billion kronor but this was also better than analysts expectations of 426 billion kronor hm noted in its report that the operating profit was negatively impacted as a result of increased raw materials and freight costs combined with a stronger us dollar compared with last year the company also reported a 20 percent reduction of its inventory on hand and said it was on course to further reduce its stocks of unsold clothes hm said it planned to open around 100 new stores while closing around 200 at the end of may the global retailer had 4399 stores around the world a reduction of 303 stores compared to a year earlier