TOKYO (Reuters) – Clothing brand Uniqlo’s Japanese owner said on Thursday first-half operating profit climbed 18%, even as COVID-19 lockdowns in China hampered sales in its biggest overseas market.
Fast Retailing Co said operating profit was 189 billion yen ($1.51 billion) in the six months through February, against 168 billion yen a year earlier.
The company maintained its full-year profit forecast at 270 billion yen. That compares with a consensus forecast for annual profit to total 278 billion yen, according to a Refinitiv poll of 11 analysts.
($1 = 125.4300 yen)
(Reporting by Rocky Swift; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
