Fast Retailing Group Q3 FY'13 sales up 19.1%

Of those 446 new stores, 243 stores will be located in China and Hong Kong, 105 stores in South Korea, 37 stores in Taiwan, 39 stores elsewhere in Asia, 7 stores in the United States and 15 stores in Europe. Our first UNIQLO store in Indonesia, opened in Jakarta on June 22, is already off to a solid start. As regards our full-year estimates for UNIQLO International, we expect sales to rise 52.8% year on year to ¥ 234.0bln in fiscal 2013 and operating income to expand by 81.8% to ¥ 20.0bln.

Global Brands: Low-priced GU Casualwear Brand Continues to Perform Strongly

Our Global Brands segment reported a rise in sales and income in the nine months to May 2013, with sales expanding by 30.1% year on year to ¥ 150.8bln and operating income increasing by 0.2% to ¥ 13.4bln. However, the segment reported a fall in profit in the third quarter from March to May 2013.

While our low-priced GU casualwear brand continued to generate strong results, the extremely poor weather in Europe this spring pushed performance at France-based Comptoir des Cotonniers (women's fashion) and Princesse tam.tam (corsetry, lounge wear and swimwear) below target and the two brands reported a dip in profits. Regarding our full-year estimates for Global Brands, we forecast sales will increase by 26.8% year on year to ¥ 194.0bln and operating income will expand by 27.2% to ¥ 18.5bln.

Fiscal 2013 Consolidated Forecasts: Sales Forecast to Top ¥ 1 Trillion

We estimate Group sales will top ¥ 1 trillion for the first time. Our consolidated forecasts for fiscal 2013 are as follows: sales ¥ 1.103trln (+18.8% y/y), operating income ¥ 147.5bln (+16.6%), ordinary income ¥ 153.5bln (+22.6%) and net income ¥ 91.5bln (+27.7%). This translates into earnings per share of ¥ 898.09. We forecast an annual dividend of ¥ 280 per share for the year ending August 31, 2013. This includes an interim dividend of ¥ 140 which has already been paid out.

Fast Retailing