Japan's major department store operator Takashimaya Co. said Monday it incurred a net loss of 20.53 billion yen ($190 million) in the March-May quarter with its sales nearly halved from a year earlier as people refrained from shopping and duty-free sales dried up due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The retailer said its sales tumbled 48.0 percent to 116.20 billion yen in the first quarter of its business year ending February 2021.

Takashimaya continued to withhold an earnings guidance for the current business year, citing uncertainty about the retail market outlook.

The department store operator logged a special loss of 8.59 billion yen in the quarter due to unexpected costs caused by the pandemic such as paid leave.

Takashimaya closed most of its 22 stores across the country except the food sections from April 8, the day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe declared a state of emergency, through mid-May when the emergency began to be lifted in stages.

The company has said sales in May plummeted over 60 percent, but the pace of decline slowed to around 16 percent in June.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire