Fast Retailing Co. said Thursday its net profit jumped 50 percent for the six months that ended Feb. 29 thanks to a recovery in store sales and better inventory control.

The operator of the Uniqlo casual clothing chain said its net profit was 17.84 billion yen, up from 11.89 billion yen a year earlier, and sales gained 11 percent to 182.92 billion yen.

The chain opened 40 new Uniqlo stores during the period, bringing the domestic total to 618. The company also has five outlets in Britain.

The strong showing for the first half came on the back of a rebound in store sales. Sales at outlets that have been open at least 13 months grew 2.3 percent during the period, the first growth in three years.

The company attributed the sales recovery to a string of new items that boast high-quality fabrics. It has been developing original cloth materials in collaboration with major suppliers in Japan and overseas.

Better inventory control meanwhile lifted the company's profit margin by lessening the need to mark down merchandise on store shelves.

In order to lure back customers, the chain has been focusing on women's apparel. Female shoppers comprise the bulk of its patrons.

The percentage of women's clothing against total sales stood at 34.9 percent for the first half, up from 28.6 percent a year ago.

During the six-month period, the company acquired National Standard Inc. and Link Holdings Co., which both have female apparel brands.

Tadashi Yanai, the company chief executive, told a news conference the same day that the company will aggressively pursue mergers and acquisitions at home and overseas to achieve 1 trillion yen in sales in 2010.

For the whole year through August, the company projects 28 billion yen in net profit on sales of 334.2 billion yen.