German clothing retailer Hugo Boss swung back into the black in the third quarter by getting a grip on expenditures, it said on Monday.

Boss posted net profit of 51.5 million euros (76 million dollars) in the three-month period, a statement said, erasing a net loss of 16 million in the second quarter of the year.

On a 12-month basis however, net profit was down by 25 percent, while sales fell by 16 percent from the third quarter of 2008 to 450.4 million euros.

The company's core European markets turned in "a surprise trend downwards in the third quarter," particularly in eastern Europe owing to clients' financial problems and halted deliveries, the company said in a statement.

The positive net profit was partly the result of "successful implementation of structural and efficiency measures that had been adopted at an early stage," it continued.

Hugo Boss plans to pursue its "strategic realignment" by closing loss-making stores, a move that should "form the basis for the growth curve targeted for 2010 and beyond."

AFP

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