TOKYO—Takashimaya said Friday that its net profit for the sixth months ended Aug. 31 grew at a double-digit pace thanks to higher sales and a financial gain stemming from the sale of some of its shares in H2O Retailing.
The department store operator’s first-half net profit was up 15.2 percent on the year to 11.04 billion yen, or $90.51 million at average exchange rates for the period.
Operating profit grew 13.1 percent to 13.82 billion yen, or $113.32 million.
Sales for the fiscal first half increased by 1.8 percent to 449.78 billion yen, or $3.69 billion.
“Regarding the domestic department store business, tax-free sales grew three-fold over last year, due to continued steady and strong demand from inbound visitors,” Takashimaya said in a release.
The company also revised its guidance for the fiscal year ending Feb. 29, 2016, raising its forecasts for net profit and sales, and leaving operating profit unchanged. It now expects yearly net profit to grow 5.8 percent to 23.7 billion yen, or $194.57 million at current exchange rates. This is up from a previous forecast of 3.2 percent growth to 23.3 billion yen, or $191.29 million.
Operating profit is still forecast to increase by 6.2 percent year-on-year to 34 billion yen, or $279.14 million.
The retailer expects sales for the year to grow 2.2 percent to 933 billion yen, or $7.66 billion.