Pursuits
Fast Retailing Plunges as Profit Forecast Cut to 5-Year Low
- Stronger yen, unexpectedly warm winter weather hurt earnings
- Shares take biggest plunge since Japan's March 2011 earthquake
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Fast Retailing Co. fell the most in five years in Tokyo trading, wiping about $3.8 billion off the company’s market value, after cutting its profit forecast by a third on a stronger yen and weak demand for the casual clothing maker’s down coats and thermal underwear.
Shares of Asia’s largest clothing retailer slumped 13 percent, the most since Japan’s March 2011 earthquake, to close at 26,610 yen, the lowest since March 2013. Operating profit will probably be 120 billion yen ($1.1 billion) for the year ending August 2016, down from the 180 billion yen forecast made in January, the company said Thursday after the Tokyo market closed. That lagged behind 168.6 billion yen average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.