Japanese clothing retailer Fast Retailing Co. Ltd. closed the 2021/22 financial year with surprisingly strong growth in sales and earnings. With its results published on Thursday, the parent company of the retail chain Uniqlo was able to significantly exceed the forecasts that were only raised in July.
In the fiscal year that ended in August, group sales reached a new record level of 2.30 trillion Japanese yen (16.1 billion euros). Compared to the previous year, revenues grew by 7.9 percent. Uniqlo’s strong international business made a decisive contribution, with sales up 20.3 percent to 1.12 trillion Japanese yen.
Uniqlo’s international business remains the engine of growth
According to the retailer, it was able to achieve significant growth in almost all foreign markets. Only in China was development temporarily slowed down by the tightened protective measures resulting from the Covid 19 pandemic. Annual sales there increased by just 1.2 percent. Thanks to strong demand abroad, Uniqlo was able to more than compensate for a drop in sales at home. Uniqlo Japan’s revenue fell 3.8 percent to 810.2 billion Japanese yen.
The other divisions developed differently: sales of the GU label fell by 1.4 percent to 246.0 billion Japanese yen, while the Global Brands segment with brands such as Comptoir des Cotonniers, Theory and Helmut Lang was able to increase by 13.8 percent 123.1 billion Japanese yen gain.
In the current financial year, too, sales are to be increased significantly
Positive currency effects contributed to the fact that Fast Retailing was able to increase its earnings faster than sales. Operating profit grew 19.4 percent year-on-year to 297.3 billion Japanese yen, while net income attributable to shareholders jumped 60.9 percent to reach 273.3 billion Japanese yen (1.91 billion euros ).
For the current fiscal year 2022/23, the management now expects sales growth of 15.2 percent to 2.65 trillion Japanese yen, the operating result is expected to increase by 17.7 percent to 350 billion Japanese yen. However, due to the absence of positive currency effects, the group is forecasting a decline of 15.9 percent to 230 billion Japanese yen in net profit attributable to shareholders.