Fast Retailing Co. shares
9983,
rose sharply Friday morning after the owner of Uniqlo apparel stores posted strong quarterly earnings thanks to global sales growth and raised its annual profit guidance.
The company’s shares were recently 8.8% higher at 32,940 yen after rising as much as 9.7% earlier.
Fast Retailing said Thursday after market close that net profit rose 4.5% from a year earlier to Y153.39 billion ($1.16 billion) for the six-month period ended Feb. 28.
Second-quarter net profit was Y68.32 billion, given a net profit of Y85.07 billion the previous quarter, according to a Wall Street Journal calculation. That handily beat the estimate of Y55.10 billion from a poll of analysts by FactSet.
The apparel retailer said first-half revenue rose 20% from a year earlier to Y1.467 trillion thanks to sales increases across various segments, led by especially strong Uniqlo revenue growth in Southeast Asia, the U.S. and Europe.
Fast Retailing raised its net-profit forecast for the fiscal year ending in August, citing strong first-half earnings. It now expects net profit to drop 12% to Y240.00 billion, compared with the previous view of a 16% decrease.
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Laine Volkman