Fast Retailing, the Japanese giant that owns Uniqlo, GU, and Theory, among others, has seen a strong first half and raised its full-year profits forecast, which barring any unforeseen issues means a third consecutive year of record profits.

The company has been boosted by strong Uniqlo sales both at home and abroad, although one of its key markets — China — remains challenging.

In the six months to February, consolidated revenue rose 12% to ¥1.79 trillion (€11bn/£9.5bn/$12.5bn) and operating profit surged 18.3% to ¥304.22 billion. Its net profit jumped to ¥233.566 billion from ¥195.912 billion.

And full-year consolidated operating profit should now rise 8.8% to ¥545 billion, while consolidated revenue is expected to rise 9.5% to ¥3.4 trillion.

The company said it saw first-half strength in Japan, North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

The Uniqlo brand is its best known property and also its largest. In Japan, Uniqlo saw revenue rising 11.6% to ¥541.5 billion. Operating profit was up 26.4% at ¥97.6 billion. Comparable sales including online rose by 9.8% due to its “decision to develop products and marketing strategically tailored to weather conditions, which resulted in strong sales primarily of products sold throughout the year, as well as thermal clothing”. But also important was an increase in sales to visitors from outside Japan. The gross profit margin also improved by 0.8 point year-on-year “thanks to stricter discounting rates”.

Uniqlo International reported significant increases in revenue and profit with revenue rising 14.7% to ¥1.0141 trillion and operating profit expanding 11.7% to ¥168.5 billion. Operations in Southeast Asia, India & Australia, North America, and Europe reported “especially strong revenue and profit gains”.

But looking at Greater China, revenue in the Mainland market declined by around 4% and operating profit contracted by roughly 11% due primarily to “lacklustre consumer appetite across the market”. It suffered from “the lack of an appropriate product mix that truly met the needs of individual regions, in the face of unusually sharp differences in regional temperatures”. Elsewhere in Greater China, the Hong Kong market reported a decline in revenue and a large contraction in profit, while operations in the Taiwan market generated higher revenue and profit.

The GU brand meanwhile reported a rise in revenue but a contraction in profit in the first half, with revenue increasing to 3.9% to ¥165.8 billion but operating profit declining 9.3% to ¥13.9 billion. While GU’s Barrel Leg Pants, heat-padded outerwear and Cosy Melton Parkas all sold well, same-store sales expanded only marginally “due to a lack of hit products that captured mass fashion trends and can be sold in all seasons, as well as shortages of strong-selling items”. The operating profit drop was due to higher store rents associated with the opening of the GU flagship store in the US, an increase in head office costs, and a rise in advertising and promotion costs linked to the strategic increase of TV advertising in Japan.

As for the group’s Global Brands, they’ve long been the worst-performing part of the business and reported a 2.3% decline in revenue to ¥67.7 billion, but operating profit of ¥0.9 billion, a swing from a ¥1.7 billion yen loss in the first half of fiscal 2024. 

While its Theory brand “suffered a decline in revenue in the face of sluggish sales, all operations within Global Brands reported improved gross profit margins and selling, general and administrative expense ratios”. 

Even Theory’s profit rose despite its sales dipping. Its revenue decline “was the result of depressed consumer appetite for apparel at Theory Asia, and insufficient casualwear offerings designed to suit current lifestyles”. But the increase in operating profit was fuelled by a higher gross profit margin and an improved selling, general and administrative expense ratio. 

Its PLST operation reported a rise in revenue and a move into the black in the first half of fiscal 2025. “The strategic preparation of sufficient stock of strong-selling items, as well as ongoing transformations of store operations and store displays, both helped generate strong sales”, it said. 

Finally, the Comptoir des Cotonniers label saw a decline in revenue on the back of a one-third reduction in store numbers. However, same-store sales increased significantly “thanks to buoyant sales of items that are now marketed in a more affordable price range”. This resulted in a contraction in overall losses.