The world's second-biggest clothing retailer says sales jumped 9% in the fourth quarter.

That follows years of heavy investment in online services and new store concepts.

The gain puts it on course to increase annual profits for the first time in four years.

Shares in the firm gained as much as 2% in Monday (December 16) trade.

The news comes after numbers last week from arch rival Inditex, owner of Zara.

It too shrugged off retail gloom to post rising sales.

For H&M the latest gains will come as a relief.

The Swedish firm suffered years of sliding profits as the number of visitors to its stores dwindled.

That left it battling rising inventories and a falling market value.

This year though, H&M shares are up over 50% as investors cheer signs of recovery.