Convenience store chain Lawson Inc. said Wednesday it scored a group net profit of 18.57 billion yen in the year to Feb. 29, up 109.6 percent over the previous year.
Lawson attributed the gain to the previous year's increased disposal of fixed assets, which resulted in a steep decrease in extraordinary losses in the just-ended business year.
Group pretax profit grew 19.3 percent to 36.56 billion yen due to an increase in royalties paid by franchisees. Operating revenue slipped 1.9 percent to 245.6 billion yen due to a decrease in the number of operating days at stores under direct management, Lawson said.
Net profit per share rose to 175.78 yen from 82.35 yen.
Lawson plans to keep its per-share full-year dividend unchanged at 41 yen, including an interim dividend of 20 yen.
The Tokyo-based company had a network of 7,821 stores in Japan at the end of February after opening 625 new outlets and closing 429 during the year.
For the current business year, Lawson has forecast a group net profit of 20 billion yen and a pretax profit of 40.5 billion yen on revenue of 255 billion yen.
It plans to raise its full-year dividend to 70 yen per share, including an interim dividend of 35 yen.