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Fast Retailing H1 revenue increases 16.6 percent

By Prachi Singh

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Business

The Fast Retailing Group generated rises in both revenue and profit in the first half to February 28, 2018. Consolidated revenue rose to 1.1867 trillion Japanese yen or 16.6 percent year-on-year and operating profit reached 170.4 billion Japanese yen (1.59 billion dollars), rising 30.5 percent. The consolidated gross profit margin improved by 0.7 point and the operating profit margin improved 1.6 points to 14.4 percent.

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The group recorded a foreign exchange loss of 1.7 billion Japanese yen and impairment losses of 9.9 billion Japanese yen (0.093 billion dollars) under other income and expenses. A net loss of 5.2 billion Japanese yen was recorded under finance income. The company said, profit attributable to owners of the parent increased to 104.1 billion Japanese yen (0.97 billion dollars) or 7.1 percent year-on-year.

Core business segments report rise in revenue and profit

The company said, within the Uniqlo International segment, Greater China (Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Southeast Asia and South Korea are entering a new stage of growth as the key drivers of operational growth for the Fast Retailing Group. Operating losses at Uniqlo USA contracted considerably, putting that operation on track to turn a profit going forward. In terms of the GU operation, the company plans to open more GU stores in Japan, while expanding the brand’s international presence, especially in Greater China.

Uniqlo Japan reported a rise in revenue of 8.5 percent to 493.6 billion Japanese yen (4.62 billion dollars) and 29 percent rise in operating profit to 88.7 billion Japanese yen (0.83 billion dollars). In the six months to 28 February 2018, same-store sales, including online sales, expanded by 8.4 percent and online sales increased 31.6 percent to constitute 7.5 percent of total revenue. The fall/ winter season displayed a consistently strong sales trend as the unusually cold weather supported strong sales of warm clothing such as Heattech, down, fleece, sweat pants and shirts, and danpan warm pants. Gross profit margin improved 0.8 point year on year.

Uniqlo International revenue increased 29.2 percent to 507.4 billion Japanese yen (4.75 billion dollars) and operating profit increased to 80.7 billion Japanese yen (0.75 billion dollars), a rise of 65.6 percent year-on-year. The operating profit margin improved by 3.5 points to 15.9 percent. Profitability improved at Uniqlo North America, Greater China and South Korea. The company added that Uniqlo Southeast Asia & Oceania continued to generate a strong performance. Uniqlo Europe also reported a considerable increase in first-half profit, with strong sales in core markets such as Russia, France and the United Kingdom helping increase same-store sales for the European region overall. The operation in Spain got off to a strong start.

The GU business segment reported revenue increase to 105.8 billion Japanese yen (0.99 billion dollars) or 8.3 percent and operating profit rose 23.3 percent, reaching 9.1 billion Japanese yen. Same-store sales however declined slightly. First-half revenue increased 8.3 percent year-on-year after new store openings expanded the total GU network by 26 stores. On the profit front, GU operating profit increased on a higher gross profit margin.

Global Brands segment posts 11.4 percent revenue growth in H1

The Global Brands segment reported a 11.4 percent rise in revenue to 78.4 billion Japanese yen (0.73 billion dollars) and an operating loss of 5.6 billion Japanes yen, following the recording of impairments losses of 7.7 billion Japanese yen for the Comptoir des Cotonniers label, and 1 billion Japanese yen for Helmut Lang, a Theory operation brand.

Theory operating profit, excluding the Helmut Lang impairment loss, rose on the back of continued strong sales at the operation’s Theory and PLST brands. While the France-based Princesse tam.tam brand continued to report a steady year-on-year loss, the US-based J Brand denim label reported reduced losses in the six-month period to February 28, 2018.

Picture:Facebook/Uniqlo Japan

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