Japanese retailer Aeon Co. has seen first-half profits tumble 18% as costs linked to the company’s expansion hit earnings.


Aeon, which has been building its business to compete with likes of Seven & I Holdings, posted operating profit of JPY67.8bn (US$581.4m) for the six months to the end of August. Sales, however, rose 7.7% to JPY2.5 trillion.


This year, Aeon has bought stakes in retailers Daiei and Maruetsu in a bid to regain top spot in the Japanese retail sector.


Senior managing director Masaaki Toyoshima said he believed the underlying health of the business was strong


“We think that the underlying profit-generating capability at our supermarket business is improving thanks to past restructuring efforts, which will allow us to see a healthy positive contribution in the second half,” Toyoshima said, according to local reports.

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