Spanish owner of Zara sees profits, sales rise

MADRID  — Spanish fashion retailer Inditex, which owns the Zara store chain, said Wednesday net profit for its 2015 financial year was up 15 percent thanks to booming sales worldwide.

Inditex said profit for February 2015 through January 2016 was 2.9 billion euros ($3.2 billion) compared with 2.5 billion euros for the previous 12-month period.

The company said sales rose 15.4 percent to 21 billion euros in the period.

Inditex says it opened 330 new stores in the period for a total of 7,013. It says it created some 16,000 jobs in the process, making for a workforce of 153,000.

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

Inditex shares were up 2.2 percent at 30.1 euros in morning trading in Madrid. TVJ