Like JB Hi-Fi (JBH), Harvey Norman (HVN) is riding the collapse of smaller rival, Dick Smith, very nicely.
JB Hi-Fi said its first quarter sales were up 12.4% and 8.3% on a comparable store basis. Harvey Norman’s comparable sales rose 5.4% for its Australian franchisees, as did headline sales.
Quarterly aggregated sales totalled $1.69 billion for the three months ended September 30, as rise of 6.6%.
It was not as solid a rise as JB Hi-Fi, but tasty nevertheless. JB is in the process of taking over a smaller consumer electronics group in the Good Guys, which will boost its sales and earnings appreciably.
Comparable sales at its company-owned New Zealand stores rose more than 18% on a topline basis and 14.85 on a comparable store basis in the three months to September 30.
As a result, Harvey Norman posted a 26% rise in first-quarter preliminary profit before tax to $115.6 million. JB Hi Fi doesn’t give quarterly earnings.
That saw Harvey Norman shares up as much as 3.2%, but the optimism didn’t last long and shares turned lower to close down 0.8% $4.93. JB Hi -Fi shares fared worse, losing nearly 3% to end at $27.41.
