Japanese retail firm Aeon announced on Wednesday it recorded a net profit for the three months to the end of May, an indicator of the success of its massive cost cutting drive.
The company posted a net profit of ¥19.27bn (US$218m) compared with a loss of ¥2.49bn (US$28m) for the same period in 2009. Revenue for the period fell 2.5 per cent to ¥1.215 trillion (US$13.75bn) from ¥1.246 trillion (US$14.09bn), while operating profit rose to ¥21.78bn (US$246m) from ¥8.72bn (US$99m).
The Japanese retail sector is still struggling with poor economic conditions, but the ¥31.2bn (US$353m) Aeon has cut in costs, along with the sale of under-performing US clothing retailer Talbots, helped its cause.
Aeon's chief financial officer Seiichi Chiba said the cost cutting measures were running at a faster pace than they had planned, the Wall Street Journal reported.
According to figures from the Japan Chain Stores Association, supermarket sales in the country fell below ¥13 trillion (US$147.1bn) last year for the first time in 21 years.
Mr Chiba said acquisitions outside Japan could be an option to grow the business in other Asian countries, and the firm currently has stores in China, Malaysia and Thailand.
