Leading retailer Harvey Norman appears to be seeing the signs of slower consumer spending, but remains confident of withstanding any economic headwinds.
The company on Tuesday reported a fall in interim profit, but said the result represented solid growth that was above pre-pandemic levels.
First-half net profit totalled $369.8 million, down from $433.7m in the previous corresponding period, on total revenue of about $2 billion, including $1.5b of sales of products to customers.
After stripping out foreign currency items and land, building and other asset revaluations, the attributable profit for the six months ended December was $390.2m, down from $461.4m.
“Despite the macroeconomic headwinds and cost of living pressures affecting discretionary retail, our strong balance sheet and our substantial growth in net assets throughout the pandemic has left us in a solid position to withstand these challenging circumstances,” it said in a statement.
“We remain confident in our brands and the strong market position held by our Australian franchisees and overseas company-owned stores.”
Brands include Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Mayne.
Harvey Norman declared an interim dividend of 13 cents per share, down from 20 cents in the same period in the previous financial year.
– AAP
