Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing 9-month profit jumps

TOKYO, July 9 (Reuters) - Japan's Fast Retailing (9983.T) posted a 28 percent gain in operating profit for the first nine months of its business year on Thursday, buoyed by robust sales at its Uniqlo casual clothing chain, and lifted its full-year forecast for the third time. The company represents one of the few bright spots among major domestic retailers, with Uniqlo attracting price-conscious shoppers amid Japan's worst recession since World War Two. The firm, which runs about 770 Uniqlo stores at home and 70 overseas, said operating profit came to 97.2 billion yen ($1.04 billion) for the nine months ended in May.

Same-store sales at Uniqlo stores in Japan jumped a hefty 15.4 percent during the three months ended in May, thanks to the popularity of its T-shirts and other summer items.

For the full year to August it now expects operating profit to grow 23.4 percent from a year earlier to 108 billion yen, up from 101 billion yen in its previous forecast and in line with an average forecast of 108.8 billion yen in a poll of 20 analysts by Thomson Reuters.

Fast Retailing shares gained 20 percent in the 12 months to Wednesday, against an 18 percent decline in the Tokyo stock exchange's retail subindex .IRETL.T. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Elaine Lies)