The gross profit of the company reached $12.6 billion in the quarter from $11.5 billion in the same period of last fiscal while the operating profit touched $5.8 billion in the third quarter from $4.9 billion in Q3 of fiscal 2020.

The overall gross profit margin decreased to 34.1 per cent in Q3 2021 compared to 34.2 per cent in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. This decrease was primarily driven by higher transportation costs and pressure from product mix, partially offset by the benefit from higher retail prices.

On the other hand, the operating profit as a percentage of net sales increased to 15.7 per cent in the third quarter of fiscal 2021 from the 14.5 per cent in the third quarter of last fiscal.

The net earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2021 were $4.1 billion or $3.92 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $3.4 billion or $3.18 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2020 while the diluted earnings per share increased 23.3 per cent in the reporting quarter, from the same period in the prior year.

"As evidenced by our strong performance in the quarter, our team continues to do an outstanding job of operating with flexibility and agility," Craig Menear, chairman and chief executive officer of the company, said in a press release.

As of October 31, 2021, the company had $5.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $20.6 billion of merchandise inventories and generated $13.4 billion of net cash flow from operating activities.

At the end of the third quarter, the company operated a total of 2,317 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico, including 14 stores from a small acquisition completed during the second quarter of fiscal 2021.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DD)