By Kosaku Narioka
Kusuri No Aoki Holdings shares rose sharply Wednesday morning after the Japanese drugstore operator’s first-quarter profit climbed, thanks partly to stronger sales of food items.
The shares were recently 7.1% higher at 9,165 yen after rising as much as 10% earlier.
Kusuri No Aoki said Tuesday after market close that net profit increased 16% from a year earlier to Y4.79 billion ($32.1 million) for the quarter ended Aug. 20.
First-quarter revenue rose 17% to Y107.44 billion. Sales of food, drinks and snacks climbed 28% to Y50.54 billion as the company improved the lineup of fresh food items.
Kusuri No Aoki added six stores on a net basis in the three-month period, bringing the total number of stores to 909 at the end of the quarter.
The company said the business environment was increasingly more difficult due to inflation, competition for new store openings and mergers and acquisitions by industry leaders.
Kusuri No Aoki kept its earnings forecasts unchanged for the fiscal year ending May 20, 2024. It continues to expect revenue to grow 8.2% to Y410.00 billion and net profit to climb 5.5% to Y13.00 billion.
Write to Kosaku Narioka at [email protected]
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