Investors didn’t like what was a solid 2020-21 financial result from Harvey Norman, even though it repaid $6 million in JobKeeper subsidies to the federal government following months of criticism and pressure.
Rather than focus on that, investors instead focused on the weak early trading update for 2021-21.
The company revealed that the lockdowns since July 1 in various states had seen a slowdown in sales growth.
Sales through the start of the new financial year have fallen due to lockdowns, down 19.2% in Australia through July and August, however sales are up 11% when compared to 2019.
Sales were also down in the double digits in New Zealand and Malaysia because of lockdowns caused by rising Covid delta infections.
That saw the shares lose 5% at the opening and they remained in the red all day, ending the session down 3.2% at $5.38.
Sales leapt 15.3% to $9.72 billion for the year to June 30, while it saw a near 79% jump in adjusted profit before tax to $1.18 billion.
Net profit after tax and excluding net property revaluations surged 63% to a record $743.1 million.
Harvey Norman declared a 15 cents a share final dividend, lifting the full-year dividend by 45% to 35 cents a share.
That’s a total payout of $436 million of which around $140 million of this will be paid to chairman and co-founder, Gerry Harvey, the company’s biggest shareholder.
“The solid results delivered in the 2021 financial year is a testament to the strength and resilience of the integrated retail, franchise, property and digital strategy, and its ability to adapt and transition to the challenging retail landscape and continue to navigate the uncertainties presented by COVID-19,” Mr Harvey said in a statement to the ASX.
“The results achieved this year demonstrates that customers continue to engage strongly with our brands and feel comfortable and safe shopping in our expansive, spacious overseas company-owned and Australian franchised complexes, with easy direct access to large showrooms and warehouses, or the various flexible ‘Contactless Click & Collect’ and ‘Contactless Delivery’ options on offer.
“We have continued to invest in technology, digital transformation and infrastructure to enable our overseas company-owned stores and Australian franchisees to enhance their ‘Shop Safe’ capabilities and bolster their customer-centric strategies,” he said.
Harvey Norman revealed in Tuesday’s accounts that it had paid back $6.02 million in JobKeeper subsidies to the tax office, reflecting all the wage subsidies received by company-controlled entities over the 2020 and 2021 financial years.
