Tokyo, Oct. 13 (Jiji Press)–Japanese retail giant Aeon Co. said Tuesday that its consolidated net profit in the March-August first half of its current business year increased 3.3-fold from a year earlier to 13.3 billion yen. The surge reflected the strong performance of drugstore operator Tsuruha Holdings Inc., which became an Aeon subsidiary in January, and a decrease in special losses. Group sales rose 13.8 pct to 5,904.1 billion yen, a record high for the six-month period. Consolidated operating profit grew 10.7 pct to 130.7 billion yen, hitting an all-time high for two consecutive years, as robust drugstore and Aeon Mall shopping facility operations more than offset the weakness of its mainstay general merchandise store business. Aeon booked 4.1 billion yen as special losses related to damage from natural disasters, including the July 28 powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture. The temblor led to an explosion at the Aeon Mall Kumamoto facility in the town of Kashima in the southwestern Japan prefecture. The company left its earnings forecasts for the full year until February 2027 unchanged, with consolidated sales put at 12 trillion yen, up 12.0 pct from the previous year, operating profit at 340 billion yen, up 25.7 pct, and net profit at 73 billion yen, up 0.4 pct. United Super Markets Holdings Inc., an Aeon affiliate, which operates Maruetsu, Kasumi, Inageya and other food supermarkets, plans to shut down about 100 stores by fiscal 2030. On this, Aeon President Akio Yoshida said that the company is considering converting some of the outlets subject to closure into Aeon-operated shops such as drugstores and My Basket compact supermarkets. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
