TOKYO, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Japan's second-largest retailer Aeon Co Ltd posted a net loss for the nine months ended in November and cut its earnings outlook, hit by a writedown for its U.S. unit Talbots.
The company was also hurt by accounting changes and flagging sales in Japan, with its supermarkets and shopping malls suffering from a sharp fall in sales as consumers cut back on spending to ride out tough economic times.
Aeon, which operates Jusco and Maxvalu stores, said its operating profit came to 65.9 billion yen ($702 million) for the nine months, down 18 percent from the same period a year earlier.
It booked a net loss of 29.5 billion yen, after its U.S. apparel chain Talbots took an impairment charge stemming from its decision to sell its J. Jill brand.
The company said it now expects its net earnings to fall within a range of 2.5 billion yen in profit to a 2.5 billion yen loss for the year ending in February.
That is down from its previous estimate of a profit of 11 billion yen to 15 billion yen and compares with a mean forecast of 9 billion yen in profit in a poll of 11 analysts by Reuters Estimates.
Shares of Aeon lost 42 percent in the year to Tuesday, underperforming a 36 percent decline in the benchmark Nikkei average.
Bigger rival Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd is scheduled to announce its results on Thursday. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)