Fast Retailing sees recovery as pandemic abates

The yen fell to a four-year low against the Hong Kong dollar as Japan's Fast Retailing said it expected a continued recovery in sales and profits in the year to August 2022 as the pandemic abates.

The owner of clothing brand Uniqlo said yesterday it expects operating profit to climb 8.4 percent to 270 billion yen in the fiscal year 2021-22.

For the year ended in August, it reported 249 billion yen in operating profit, topping the 245.7 billion yen forecast in a Refinitiv poll of 13 analysts.

"Vaccinations are being carried out all over the world to control the spread of the disease, and the economy is growing in earnest," chief executive Tadashi Yanai told reporters.

Fast Retailing expects the pandemic will still drag on results in the first half of the fiscal year but will then recover in the second half as shopping habits return to normal. The company expects some negative effects from production or logistic delays, problems that have plagued major clothiers and their global supply lines in recent months.

In September, Fast Retailing said some clothing releases would be delayed due to pandemic-related lockdowns at partner factories in Vietnam. That followed crises in Myanmar and China that upset supply lines and created reputational challenges.