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- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Rafael Nadal calls time on epic tennis career
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines confronts China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Kim Sei-young shoots 62 to take two-stroke lead at LPGA Shanghai
- The haircuts that help traumatised Ukrainian soldiers heal
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- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- England's Harry Brook blasts triple century against Pakistan
- Chinese electric car companies cope with European tariffs
- Zelensky in London for whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Record-breaking Root, Brook both pass 200 as England pile up 658-3
- Football mourns Greek defender George Baldock's shock death at 31
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
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- Home is far away for Madagascar in AFCON qualifying
- Two months on, Donbas soldiers begin to question Kursk offensive
- Rugby Australia to counter-sue in dispute with Melbourne Rebels
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- Philippines challenges China over South China Sea at ASEAN meet
- Mets advance on Lindor blast, Dodgers stay alive in MLB playoffs
- Injury-ravaged Krygios aiming to return at Australian Open
- Greek international Baldock, dead at 31: family
- EU talks deportation hubs to stem migration
- Deaths and repression sideline Suu Kyi's party ahead of Myanmar vote
- S. Africa offers a lesson on how not to shut down a coal plant
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Mets advance on Lindor grand slam, Yankees and Tigers win
- Taiwan President Lai vows to 'resist annexation' of island
- China's solar goes from supremacy to oversupply
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Zelensky on whirlwind tour of Europe ahead of US vote
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
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- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing on Thursday announced "a record high performance in fiscal 2024" with domestic profits in Japan boosted by hot summer weather and a tourism boom.
The company also reported "significant increases in both revenue and profit" for international stores of casualwear giant Uniqlo.
Fast Retailing -- the world's third biggest clothing manufacturer and retailer after Zara owner Inditex and Sweden's H&M -- reported a 25 percent on-year jump in net profit to 371.9 billion yen ($2.5 billion).
The firm's earnings have hit new records for several years running since the Covid-19 pandemic eased as it pursues an aggressive international expansion strategy.
Warm weather over the winter squeezed sales slightly for Uniqlo stores in Japan, famous for their down jackets.
"However, same-store sales subsequently increased by 11.7 percent year-on-year in the second half from 1 March through 31 August 2024 thanks to consistently high temperatures," the company said in a statement.
Japan's summer this year was its joint warmest on record, and climate scientists predict that 2024 will be the hottest ever for the Earth because of a warming planet.
Domestic Uniqlo stores maintained a "strategic inventory of core summer ranges through the end of the summer season" and enhanced its marketing initiatives, Fast Retailing said.
Japan is also welcoming a record influx of tourists and is expected to have a total 35 million overseas visitors in 2024.
"Buoyant demand from overseas visitors also contributed to the increase in Uniqlo Japan revenue as Uniqlo brand recognition continues to rise worldwide," Fast Retailing said.
For Uniqlo overseas, operating profit margins "improved significantly in both North America and Europe".
Sales in mainland China and Hong Kong were strong in the first half of the business year but more sluggish in the second half, it added.
The company put this down to "a slowdown in consumer appetite, unseasonal weather, and product lineups that did not fully satisfy the needs of local customers".
Fast Retailing also operates the budget GU clothing brand, which reported a jump in revenue and profit for the financial year.
A.Gasser--BTB