STOCKHOLM (AP) — Fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB is to press ahead with its global expansion plans with the opening of over 300 stores this year, even though it saw a modest decline in fourth-quarter earnings that the Swedish company blamed in part on higher investments in online shopping and the launch of a new brand.

Net profit in the quarter was 5.29 billion kronor ($825 million), 1 percent down from 5.36 billion kronor a year earlier, the company said Wednesday. The decline broke a three-quarter streak of rising earnings for H&M, which specializes in offering trendy fashion lines at low prices.