Harvey Norman Holdings has reported a slump in first-half net profit, down 17 per cent, reflecting price declines, the strong Australian dollar and the impact of wet weather on sales.

Harvey Norman posted a net profit of $131.67 million for the six months to December 31, down from $158.86 million in the first half of the prior financial year.

Stock fell 1 cent to $3.01 in morning trade but managed to mark a gain of 2 cents to $3.04 shortly after.


Company owned sales revenue was up 12 per cent at $804.13 million for the half year.

‘‘Our profit was down as a result of price deflation in key categories driven by the strong Australian dollar, the challenging retail environment and also the extreme wet weather on the east coast of Australia that affected sales of seasonal products,’’ chairman Gerry Harvey said in a statement.

Mr Harvey said significant price deflation for televisions and laptop computers had a negative impact on the first-half result.

In addition, consumer confidence had declined due to successive interest rate increases, he said.

The group’s underlying profit also fell, down 16.5 per cent at $198.61 million.

Mr Harvey said the group’s purchase of 28 Clive Peeters and Rick Hart stores from receivers for $55 million in July 2010 had not performed as expected.   

The businesses contributed sales revenue of $124.77 million and made a before tax loss of $20.67 million, due to investment and restructuring costs to turn the businesses around.

‘‘This was below management’s expectations, highlighting the impact of the damage to the brands prior to acquisition and the lead-time for customer acceptance and confidence in the reinvigorated business under Harvey Normans stewardship,’’ Mr Harvey said.

Heavy discounting was required to sell-off old inventory, compounded by the difficult trading conditions experienced by all retailers, he said.

Harvey Norman has declared an interim dividend of six cents per share, fully franked, down 1 cent from the prior comparable first half.

Sir lastnail wrote on Feb 25^th, 2011 at 7:32pm:




I kn ew that would put a smile on your face rusty...look at the big LOL..makes sense to someone like you..

for someone who would never shop there I am surprised why it bothers you that he is stilll in business..

bridonta wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 7:53am:



yippee that will make rustys day!

mavisdavis wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 8:36am:




if you are talking about rusty then you dont know rusty.

and I cant think why Gerry Harvey would get off on others misfortune

mavisdavis wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 8:56am:



well thats good to know.. to see some getting pleasure out of others misfortune makes a mockery of our supposed Fair Go  culture!

the challenging retail environment

- extracted from the OP

There's your REAL reason .. consumers aren't stupid .. they DO shop around and if they can get a better deal elsewhere they will grab it.

A quick word re product quality .. products today are not made to last .. irrespective of the label and rhetoric .. and consumers know that whatever they buy will probably be disposed of within 1 - 5 yrs.


=====> all the more reason why consumers want the best deal. Even when they know they've secured a great deal .. the money they've spent on a product will end up in the rubbish sooner than later.

cods wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 8:40am:


you are an ignoramus codsballs.

some feedback on Gerry from various websites.

Gerry Harvey knows full well removing the threshold won't slow internet sales. But what the "coalition" is really after is to make it inconvenient to buy on the web. Adding GST to imported goods under $1000, will add significant delays to delivery, custom declarations will need to be filled out, and a processing fee charged. Could be as high as $65. This is what they're really after.

In the late 1990s Gerry was fined for sending a letter to other retailers saying they should all stick together and not deal with any suppliers who sell direct on the internet. This was generated by Compaq establishing a direct internet site. 2 months before the GST he sent a letter to all suppliers which included that they would have to agree to a hike in his rebate from 5% to 15% or loose trading with Harvey Normans, With that he took the savings from the GST away from the consumers.

I am an accountant for some of Gerry's 'victims' who bought into his franchises. Gerry's formula of ridiculous rents and ridiculous franchise fees means that they only make decent money when money is flowing. When interest rates rise - sales are hit - BUT the rent and franchise fees don't change! If a franchiser goes under- the franchise is sold to the next sucker.

This whole charade is Gerry shifting the blame to someone other than his flawed model which bankrupts people when sales drop.

mavisdavis wrote on Feb 26^th, 2011 at 8:56am:


I wonder if you were singing the same tune when Pacific Brands sent 2000 local jobs over to china and there was old Gerry on 60 minutes defending the toe cutter who was behind it all

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/stories/788322/the-boss