Aeon Co. reported Tuesday a record operating profit of 69.1 billion yen for the first half of its business year, thanks to a recovery in the performance of its main general merchandise stores.
Revenue at the nation's largest retailer was up 4 percent to 2.15 trillion yen for the period through August.
It posted an after-tax loss of 20.27 billion yen after slashing the book value of unprofitable assets ahead of a regulatory deadline.
The operator of Jusco stores and Maxvalu supermarkets said its shopping center-development business and credit-card unit continued to post healthy growth.
More notably, the firm said its GMS business saw profit growth thanks to improvement in the clothing segment, which had been a drag on the retail chain's overall performance.