Japan's Seven & i posts 20pc drop in Q1 profit

TOKYO, July 13 (Reuters): Japan's Seven & i Holdings, the world's largest convenience store operator, reported a nearly 20 per cent fall in first-quarter operating profit on Thursday.

Profit fell to 81.99 billion yen ($590.70 million) for the three months ended May 31 from 102.37 billion yen in same period a year earlier.

The company, which owns the 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores worldwide, maintained its full-year profit forecast at 513 billion yen for the year ending February 2024, compared with an average estimate of 511.1 billion yen, based on a Refinitiv poll of 16 analysts.