TYO:9983

Uniqlo Owner Fast Retailing Raises Full Year Targets as Fiscal Nine-Month Earnings Jump

Fast Retailing (TYO:9983, HKG:6288) raised its full-year projections on Thursday on the back of a year-over-year earnings surge for the nine months ended May 31 that came in higher than its expectations.The owner of clothing brand Uniqlo said profit attributable to owners of the parent jumped 25.6% to 426 billion yen, while revenue increased 17.1% to 3.065 trillion yen. For the fiscal third quarter alone, attributable profit soared 39.1% to 146.7 million yen, supported by a 22.2% increase in revenue.The retailer attributed its strong quarterly performance to ongoing global communications and branding efforts, as it opened six new stores in North America, four in Europe and a global flagship store in South Korea.Against this background, Fast Retailing increased its consolidated growth estimates for the year ending August. The upgrades include an expected 3.970 trillion yen in revenue and attributable profit of 500 billion yen, compared with the respective estimates of 3.900 trillion yen and 480 billion yen that were provided in April."These upward revisions reflect the corporate performance through June as well as the decision to revise the exchange rates used to calculate fourth-quarter business estimates to bring them more in line with current actual rates," Fast Retailing's earnings statement said.Per region, the upside surprise in fiscal third-quarter readings also prompted higher estimates for South Korea, Southeast Asia, India, Australia, North America and Europe. Expectations for Greater China were unchanged as its plan for the region is proceeding as planned.At closing, the stock shed 2% in Tokyo.