Onward Holdings Co., Ltd. reported that consolidated sales during March-August 2016 decreased by 4.8% compared to the first half of the previous fiscal year to 119,495 million yen. However, operating profits increased by 35.2% to 529 million yen.
Ordinary profits fell 14.6% to 1,150 million yen due to foreign exchange losses cause by the strong Japanese currency.
Of this, Onward Kashiyama Co., Ltd. suffered from stagnant shop sales with sales decreasing by 3.9% to 67,198 million yen, and operating profits declined by 8.3% to 2,142 million yen. However, production control efforts succeeded in improving the gross profit margin by 0.6 points to 49.9%.
Among core brands, sales were strong for Nijyusanku (up 3%), ICB (up 2%) and Jiyuku (up 1%). In men’s wear, favorable sales were reported for Gotairiku (sales remaining about the same), Personal Order (up 4%), and any SIS for sales at shopping centers (up 2%).
Onward Kashiyama President Akinori Baba says, “Brands that are in a favorable condition are those that can offer products in need according to the season and have a wider price range.”
On a full business year basis, Onward Holdings expects sales of 247 billion yen, operating profits of 4 billion yen, ordinary profits of 5 billion yen and net profits of 4.3 billion yen.