Aeon Co. said Monday that it returned to the black for the year that ended Feb. 20, with a record group net profit and group operating revenue.

Thanks to its cost-cutting drive, the operator of the Jusco and Maxvalu retail chains said it posted a 51.26 billion yen group net profit for fiscal 2002.

That compares with a group net loss of 16.14 billion yen a year earlier, when it took a one-time charge of 68 billion yen to reflect the change in the pension system.