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Seven & i's profit is boosted by overseas convenience store profits

Seven & i Holdings, a Japanese company, announced on Thursday that its operating profit rose by 9.7% during the quarter from March to May, exceeding analysts' expectations, thanks to an improved performance of its overseas convenience store business.

7-Eleven is being pressured to improve its financial situation in response to a takeover offer of $47 billion from Alimentation Couche-Tard, based in Canada.

Six analysts polled at LSEG estimated 58 billion yen as the profit for the first quarter.

The Japanese retail giant announced previously a share purchase, that it is selling non-core assets and intends to list its North American convenience stores business.

The company's domestic convenience store business saw a decline in profit, while the overall net profit rose due to the sale of assets by retailer Ito-Yokado.

Seven & i reported that gross profit margins in the U.S. improved due to an expansion of proprietary products, and optimisation of labor costs.

Seven & i's shares fell 1.6% before the earnings report, and are down 13% for the year. By the end of December, the company had spent 156 billion yen on repurchasing its shares.

The retailer kept its forecast for earnings. (1 dollar = 146.2300 Japanese yen). (Reporting and editing by Jacqueline Wong, Kate Mayberry, and Sam Nussey)

(source: Reuters)