Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing posts 31% rise in full-year profit, beats estimates

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan’s Fast Retailing, owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, booked its third consecutive year of record earnings on Thursday, boosted by widened profit margins in its international segments.

Operating profit rose 31% to 500.9 billion yen ($3.35 billion) in the 12 months through August from 381.1 billion yen a year earlier, the apparel maker said in a statement.

That compared with the 478.3 billion yen average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG, and the company’s own forecast of 475 billion yen.

Fast retailing said it expects operating profit to climb further to 530 billion yen in fiscal 2025.

Uniqlo, known for its fleece jackets and inexpensive undergarments, has benefited from a historically weak yen both at home and abroad. A tourism boom in Japan has led to a surge in duty free shopping, while revenue from its push into Western markets gets an added boost when translated back into yen.

Fast Retailing’s earnings have been less rosy in China, the company’s biggest overseas market. With more than 900 stores on the mainland, Fast Retailing has long been seen as a bellwether for the retail sector in the world’s second-biggest economy.

Pandemic restrictions dragged on results there for years, but now the challenge is a sluggish economy that has weighed on consumer confidence.

Founder Tadashi Yanai has long aimed to make Fast Retailing the world’s biggest fashion retailer, with Zara owner Inditex (BME:) and H&M (ST:) standing in the way. He has said consumers are more focused on value than luxury in a post-pandemic world, a trend that would work in Uniqlo’s favour.

Yanai, Japan’s richest man, is scheduled to speak at the apparel maker’s earnings briefing on Thursday, alongside Uniqlo President Daisuke Tsukagoshi, whom Yanai has spoken of as a possible successor.

($1 = 149.2500 yen)