Japan's FamilyMart UNY Holdings Co. Ltd. on Oct. 4 raised its outlook for profit attributable to the owners of the parent for the first half of fiscal 2019 to ¥30.0 billion, jumping 33.3% from the previous estimate of ¥22.50 billion.

In addition, the food retailer now expects basic EPS of ¥237.09 for the six months ended Aug. 31, compared with the prior forecast of ¥177.82.

The company partly attributed the upward revisions to higher daily sales at Circle K and Sunkus outlets that had been rebranded into FamilyMart stores, along with a greater-than-expected reduction in selling, general and administrative expenses due to the closure of underperforming locations in its convenience store business. It also pointed to anticipated profit gains resulting from the sale of its Uny Hong Kong unit for HK$300 million.

Meanwhile, FamilyMart reiterated its outlook for the full fiscal year ending Feb. 28, 2019, for attributable profit of ¥40.0 billion and basic EPS of ¥316.12. The current S&P Global Market Intelligence consensus estimates are for fiscal 2019 GAAP net income of ¥39.44 billion and GAAP EPS of ¥306.73.

The company is scheduled to report its fiscal second-quarter results on Oct. 11.

As of Oct. 3, US$1 was equivalent to ¥114.20.