TOKYO: Japan's Fast Retailing, the owner of clothing brand Uniqlo, trimmed its profit outlook for the year on Thursday, reflecting the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sales.

       The company now expects an operating profit of 245 billion yen ($2.23 billion) for the year ending August. It had previously predicted 255 billion yen.

       Profit rose to 227.9 billion yen in the nine months ended May from 134.4 billion yen in the year-earlier period that was hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. - Reuters