Fast Retailing Co. raised doubt about meeting its own sales targets for Uniqlo casual wear sales in the current quarter as unseasonably cool weather dampened demand for summer items.
The apparel retailer on Thursday maintained its forecast for annual profit at ¥120 billion, 9.8 percent below the ¥133 billion average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Lower than usual temperatures in Japan and wider losses at Uniqlo's U.S. stores will probably weigh on performance in the final fiscal quarter, Chief Financial Officer Takeshi Okazaki said in a briefing in Tokyo. He did not give further details or revised sales targets.
Same-store sales in Japan dipped 12 percent in June as the cooler weather curbed demand for summer clothes, the company said earlier this month.
Net income surged 36 percent in the three months ended May to ¥27.6 billion, based on nine-month figures the company released Thursday in Tokyo. Sales gained 23 percent to ¥398.4 billion in the quarter.
Growth may slow heading into the final quarter, said Dairo Murata, an analyst at JPMorgan Securities Japan Co.
"In Japan, sales are dropping because of the cool weather, and outside Japan whether Uniqlo's U.S. business could turn to profit remains a question," Murata said after the results.
Investors have bet billionaire Tadashi Yanai's clothing retailer, which offers basic designs made with advanced materials at low prices, will grow by exporting its model to faster-growing markets like China and the U.S. The shares trade at almost 44 times projected earnings, compared with 30 times for Inditex, which sells Zara casual clothes and is Uniqlo's bigger global rival, and 24 times for Hennes & Mauritz AB, which retails the H&M brand.