Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing’s operating profit beats pre-pandemic level

The owner of Japanese clothing chain Uniqlo said on Thursday its quarterly operating profit beat pre-pandemic levels with the help of China’s resurgence and solid demand for comfortable roomwear such as stretchy jogging pants.

Fast Retailing’s quarterly profit rose to 113.1 billion yen (S$1.44 billion), up 23 percent from a year earlier when the novel coronavirus outbreak had yet to emerge.

The market’s consensus forecast was for 104.7 billion yen, although its quarterly sales of 619.8 billion yen missed the market’s view of 640 billion yen, according to the average of analysts’ forecasts from Refinitiv.