Harvey Norman profit slips 17.5%

Date
    August 30, 2013




Harvey Norman has reported a net profit of $142.2 for the year to June, down 17.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Despite this, the furniture and electrical retailer said trading conditions had improved in Australia in the second half of the financial year.      

‘‘With interest rates at historic lows, Australia is seeing housing clearance rates improve and the homemaker categories Harvey Norman franchisees are benefiting from the more positive market,’’ it said in a statement to the sharemarket.

‘‘We would hope to see this continue into Christmas.’’


Global sales for July lifted 5.3 per cent from a year earlier. Australian sales also lifted 5.3 per cent in the month, compared to July 2012.

Harvey Norman's chairman and founder, Gerry Harvey, said the retailer’s balance sheet was underpinned by the value of its stores.

‘‘We have a property portfolio valued at $2.21 billion, which provides strength and stability to our balance sheet,’’ he said.

‘‘The property portfolio is a critical element in the Harvey Norman integrated retail, franchising and property system and a source of competitive advantage."

More to come...

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/earnings-season/harvey-norman-profit-slips-175-20130830-2suu8.html#ixzz2dPfVimiL

sad lol!!!


     

but....but...but....he has online shopping

Quote:


I have never paid the sticker price at HN, they do negotiate.

HN will match any advertised price.

They knocked over $400 bucks off my smart TV and last week sold me a microsoft mouse for $7 instead of $20+.

I like to find the cheapest price then get HN to match it.

Gerry Harvey slams big ticket online sales      

Date
    August 30, 2013


'There are not many people who want to buy a fridge, or a TV or a dryer without going in and having a look at it' ... Gerry Harvey.

    Harvey Norman 'cautiously optimistic' despite profit slump

Gerry Harvey has criticised the ‘‘hype’’ around online sales, saying there was no evidence people were buying more of certain white goods and electronics over the internet.    

The chairman of Harvey Norman also says his retail chain has ‘‘turned a corner’’, despite weak trading conditions and increased competition helping to wipe 17.5 per cent from its profit for the 2013 financial year.

Harvey Norman on Friday reported a net profit of $142.2 million for the year to June, down from $172.4 million a year earlier. The results were impacted by writedowns in the value of its properties, the company said, however it had benefited from improved trading conditions due to lower interest rates in the second half.


The retailer has joined other bricks and mortar stores in embarking on an online strategy to try to offset diminishing in-store sales.

But Mr Harvey said its online sales were still only about 2 per cent of its business, despite doubling over the past year.

"There are not many people who want to buy a fridge, or a TV or a dryer without going in and having a look at it," he said.

"If you look at the internet retailers, they say that's how everyone thinks and it's going to double. But there's no evidence that's likely at all."

"It's hyped up and given a lot of media coverage. The truth escapes all the time, and it's largely fed by internet retailers."      

Harvey Norman's Australian sales were down 4.2 per cent for the year to June, and global sales – taking into account the retailers outlets in Europe – fell 3 per cent.

But despite the weak result, Mr Harvey said things were starting to look better.

"There's a lot less competition out there right now. Clive Peters has disappeared, a lot of Retrovision stores have gone. There's been an awful lot of people getting out of this space," he said.

"Business confidence looks like it might be increasing, and hopefully with an election result it will increase again."

He added that while he was reluctant to give a profit guidance for the current financial year, he was feeling more confident than he had for three or four years.

"There have been a number of times where I've thought to myself, are we going to go broke? What the hell's happening here? And it just gets worse," he said.

"I think we'll look back at the year ended June 2013 and say that's when we were on the bottom. I think we're now on the way up, or I hope that's what it is."

"All the evidence is there now that we've turned the corner. We're actually climbing up the rungs instead of dropping down them."

The company posted a final dividend of 4.5 cents per share, up 0.5 cents from the previous year, to be paid on December 2.

Commonwealth Bank analyst Andrew McLennan said investors were choosing to look past the weaker-than-expected results to focus on company's positive outlook, driving the share price up 2.8 per cent to $2.96 in intraday trade.

"It's one of those balancing acts really. The results are disappointing but the outlook is positive," he said.

"The positive commentary on the company's outlook will be picked up by the market, but it is still relatively early to tell."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/retail/gerry-harvey-slams-big-ticket-online-sales-20130830-2svjd.html#ixzz2dUR8Qypc