Japan's Asics H1 profit surges 37.5% as lifestyle brands fuel growth
The operating profit of the company increased 37.5 per cent to ¥81,132 million (~$550.3 million), ordinary profit climbed 36 per cent to ¥78,626 million and profit attributable to owners of parent advanced 27 per cent to ¥53,606 million.
Asics Corporation has reported record H1 2025 results, with net sales up 17.7 per cent to ¥402,798 million (~$2.73 billion) and operating profit rising 37.5 per cent to ¥81,132 million (~$550.3 million). Growth was led by SportStyle and Onitsuka Tiger across Japan, Europe, and Greater China. Forecasts were raised to ¥800,000 million (~$5.43 billion) sales and ¥136,000 (~$922.5 million) million profit.
The basic earnings per share (EPS) stood at ¥75 compared with ¥58.09 a year earlier, and the gross margin improved to 56.7 per cent and operating margin to 20.1 per cent, both achieving record levels.
Category-wise, Performance Running sales rose 8.2 per cent to ¥184,964 million, while Core Performance Sports grew 4.8 per cent to ¥44,118 million. Apparel and Equipment sales increased 6.9 per cent to ¥20,003 million. Meanwhile, Lifestyle categories drove the strongest expansion: SportStyle jumped 46.4 per cent to ¥67,314 million and Onitsuka Tiger surged 50.1 per cent to ¥65,876 million. Category profits followed suit, with Onitsuka Tiger posting the highest margin at 39.1 per cent.
The growth was recorded across most regions. Sales in Japan increased 24.3 per cent to ¥99,263 million, with segment profit up 66.2 per cent to ¥21,635 million, supported by Onitsuka Tiger demand and margin gains. Europe advanced 24.2 per cent to ¥113,769 million, while Greater China (including Taiwan) rose 16.9 per cent to ¥62,032 million. Meanwhile, North America posted 9.1 per cent sales growth to ¥73,914 million, aided by SportStyle, and Southeast and South Asia achieved a 33.4 per cent increase to ¥23,514 million. Oceania sales rose 3.8 per cent to ¥21,447 million but segment profit declined 9.8 per cent to ¥3,355 million, while the 'Others' region remained stable at ¥24,698 million.
The total assets stood of the company stood at ¥539,717 million as of June 30, 2025. The net assets at ¥243,213 million, with an equity ratio of 44.7 per cent. Cash and equivalents amounted to ¥124,619 million. The operating cash flow improved to ¥46,411 million, while investing and financing activities recorded outflows of ¥14,312 million and ¥36,841 million respectively, reflecting capital expenditure, dividends, and treasury share buybacks.
For full-year 2025, Asics forecasts net sales to reach ¥800,000 million (~$5.43 billion), operating profit of ¥136,000 million (~$922.5 million), ordinary profit of ¥131,000 million, and profit attributable to owners of parent of ¥87,000 million, with basic EPS of ¥121.72. With strong momentum in premium running and lifestyle categories, and solid regional growth led by Japan, Europe, and Greater China, the company expects to achieve its mid-term plan 2026 profitability and return on assets (ROA) targets one year ahead of schedule.
'Based on this upward revision, we expect ROA of 16 per cent. As a result, we expect to hit our Mid-Term Plan 2026 targets one year ahead of schedule. The annual dividend forecast has also risen from ¥26 to ¥28,' Asics said in a press release.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
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