Spanish retail giant Inditex beat expectations on Wednesday (June 9).

The home of the Zara clothing chain reported a first-quarter net profit of 421 million euros, or $513 million.

Revenue for the quarter was up 48% on the same time last year, but still well short of 2019's $7.2 billion.

Online sales rose two-thirds from last year as the health crisis kept stores shuttered across the world for much of the quarter.

The company said 98% of its stores had reopened by June 6, but with around 10% fewer opening hours available due to ongoing restrictions.

Sales between May and early June more than doubled compared with the same period last year, and were up 5% compared with the same period in 2019.

It's evidence of a spike in demand also seen by other retailers including Next and Abercrombie & Fitch.

The company's shares closed at 32.3 euros on Tuesday (June 8), matching pre-crisis levels for the first time since March 2020.