Swedish fashion retailer, Hennes & Mauritz AB, says fourth-quarter sales grew by 14 per cent as the company expanded with new shops in India, South Africa, Peru and Taiwan. Chief executive Karl-Johan Persson says the sales, which rose to 48.7 billion kronor ($A8.05 billion) from 42.6 billion kronor a year earlier, could have been higher had it not been for “the unseasonably mild weather” across Europe and North America in November. Quarterly net profit nevertheless dropped to 5.5