Ito-Yokado Co. posted a group net profit of 21.02 billion yen for its business year through Feb. 28, a plunge of 59.8 percent from a year earlier, Japan's largest retailer said Thursday.

Much of the decline was attributed to 22.3 billion yen in restructuring costs, which included the closure of unprofitable stores.

Group operating profit meanwhile grew 8.3 percent from a year earlier to 178.39 billion yen on sales of 3.34 trillion yen, up 5.1 percent. Ito-Yokado's biggest rival, Aeon Co., posted sales of 3.09 trillion yen.