Fast Retailing Co., the operator of the casual clothing brand Uniqlo, raised on Thursday its profit outlook for its business year ending in August, supported by a weak yen against major currencies.

The operator of the Uniqlo and GU casual clothing brands lifted its group net profit forecast to 190 billion yen ($1.5 billion) from the earlier estimate of 175 billion yen.

For the first half of the business year ended in February, the company reported a net profit of 146.84 billion yen, up 38.7 percent from a year earlier.

Its operating profit climbed 12.7 percent to 189.28 billion yen, while sales rose 1.3 percent to 1.22 trillion yen.

It maintained its operating profit and sales projections at 270 billion yen and 2.20 trillion yen, respectively.

==Kyodo

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