Palemo Holdings returned to profit in the quarter ended May 20, but management did not raise its targets for the year ending February 2027. The retailer reported sales of ¥3.36bn, down 0.7 per cent from a year earlier, while operating profit improved to ¥30mn from a ¥14mn loss and net profit reached ¥11mn, versus a ¥24mn loss a year earlier.
The operating picture was a little better than the headline revenue line suggests. Palemo said existing-store sales were 101.2 per cent of the year-earlier level, helped by firmer demand for spring and early-summer apparel, living goods and IP collaboration items. It opened three stores and closed four during the quarter, ending the period with 226 stores.
For investors looking for proof of a broader recovery, the more telling line was what did not move. Palemo left its full-year forecast unchanged at sales of ¥14.65bn, operating profit of ¥245mn, ordinary profit of ¥225mn and net profit of ¥100mn, and kept its common-share dividend forecast at zero. The quarter improved profitability, but it did not produce a higher annual bar.