It maintained its top- and bottom-line forecasts for the fiscal year
By Kosaku Narioka and Ronnie Harui
Seven & i Holdings' second-quarter net profit fell as its domestic business proved a drag despite stronger earnings at its North American business thanks to fuel sales.
The Japanese owner of 7-Eleven said Thursday that lower revenue and higher utility and other costs dragged operating profit for its domestic convenience-store business. Operating profit for its overseas convenience-store business rose as increased fuel sales, driven by higher gasoline selling prices, helped boost its North American earnings.
"Inflationary pressures and subdued consumer sentiment continue to weigh on our customers and the overall operating environment," Chief Executive Stephen Dacus said.
The 7-Eleven owner in April pushed back the planned listing of its North American business to the fiscal year starting next March at the earliest, after the Middle East conflict drove up oil prices and clouded the outlook for gasoline demand. It had originally planned an initial public offering by the end of 2026.
Mauricio Leyva, a former top executive at Keurig Dr Pepper, became chief executive of the North American business, 7-Eleven Inc., in August.
Seven & i announced a series of measures in March 2025 to boost shareholder value as it sought to fend off Alimentation Couche-Tard's $47 billion takeover bid. The Canadian owner of Circle K abandoned the bid in July last year.
The North American IPO was one of the key measures, alongside a $5.4 billion sale of superstores and other businesses and a $13 billion share buyback.
The 7-Eleven owner has also sought to boost earnings by improving its range of proprietary and freshly made food products.
Seven & i decided in July not to proceed with a potential investment in Poland's largest convenience-store chain, ?Zabka, which Canada's Couche-Tard subsequently said it planned to acquire for about $8.6 billion.
"We are still very interested in Europe," Dacus said. "We have options we are looking at in Europe. We have every intention of establishing our business in Europe and expanding from there."
The Japanese company said Thursday that net profit fell 12% from a year earlier to 63.84 billion yen, equivalent to $403.8 million, for the three months ended August. That was above the estimate of ¥61.3 billion in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha. Second-quarter revenue grew 8.5% to ¥3.081 trillion.
Operating profit for the overseas convenience-store business rose 19% to ¥84.83 billion, while that of the domestic convenience-store business declined 14% to ¥57.66 billion.
Seven & i maintained its top- and bottom-line forecasts for the fiscal year ending February, expecting revenue to be flat at ¥10.430 trillion and net profit to fall 5.0% to ¥278.00 billion.
Its shares have fallen about 12% year to date, weighed down by concerns about weak consumer spending amid the Middle East conflict and higher fuel prices.