The Japanese retail group Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. presented strong figures for the third quarter of the 2022/23 financial year on Thursday. In view of the latest development, the parent company of the clothing chain Uniqlo once again raised its forecast for the full year.
Uniqlo’s international business continues to grow rapidly
In the period from March to May, group sales amounted to 676.1 billion Japanese yen (4.4 billion euros), exceeding the level of the same quarter of the previous year by 23.8 percent. The strongest engine of growth was once again Uniqlo’s international business, whose revenues increased by 38.0 percent to 342.3 billion Japanese yen. According to the company, this was due to significant increases in Southeast Asia, the USA and Europe as well as the recovery in demand in China. In the Japanese home market, Uniqlo achieved an increase of 8.1 percent to 214.5 billion Japanese yen.
The group brand GU was also able to make strong gains. Their turnover grew by 21.7 percent to 82.4 billion Japanese yen. The group’s smaller fashion labels, which include Theory, Helmut Lang, Princesse Tam Tam and Comptoir des Cotonniers, together generated sales of 36.2 billion Japanese yen, exceeding the level of the same quarter in the previous year by 16.5 percent.
Operating profit increases by more than a third
The group was also able to significantly improve its operating profit: Not least thanks to the strong momentum in the Uniqlo International segment (+89.5 percent), it rose by 34.8 percent to 110.3 billion Japanese yen. However, higher financial costs meant that net profit attributable to shareholders fell 6.4 percent to 85.1 billion Japanese yen (550.3 million euros).
In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, Fast Retailing achieved a sales increase of 21.4 percent to 2.14 trillion Japanese yen. Operating profit rose 21.9 percent to 330.5 billion Japanese yen, while net income attributable to shareholders was 238.5 billion Japanese yen, up slightly year-on-year (+0.3 percent).
The strong development in the third quarter prompted management to once again set itself higher targets for the full financial year. It now expects sales to increase by 18.6 percent to 2.73 trillion Japanese yen, after only a 16.5 percent increase to 2.68 trillion Japanese yen had been targeted. The forecast for net income attributable to shareholders was raised to 260.0 billion Japanese yen from 240.0 billion.