JB Hi-Fi shares eased 2.9% in yesterday’s slide after the company’s 2017-18 annual meeting was told that sales growth was solid in the September quarter.
The shares ended a rough day for the ASX on $22.88, down nearly 10% in the past month.
There have been concerns about the possibility of a downturn in discretionary spending in the lead up to Christmas because of high debts, low wage growth, and falling house prices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
But shareholders in JB Hi-Fi were told the retailer was had seen solid same-store sales growth in its Australian and New Zealand electronics stores in recent months.
But comparable or same-store sales growth in Australia in the September quarter of this year was down on last year as was top line growth.
But the company’s New Zealand stores were seeing very strong growth this year against falls a year earlier, but off a much smaller base than in Australia.
However, the weaker housing market is starting to crimp demand for household appliances, with sales momentum slowing at The Good Guys.
CEO Richard Murray said total sales at JB Hi-Fi stores in Australia rose 5.3%, down from 8.1% a year ago and comparable sales grew 3.4% for the three months ending September (4.9% a year ago for the September quarter).
Total sales growth for The Good Guys was 2.3% (down from the 4.1% rate a year ago), with comparable sales growth of 1.0% (down from 3.4% in the September quarter of 2017).
Total sales growth for JB HI-FI New Zealand was 4.0% (up from the 6.3% fall in sales in the September 2017 quarter), with comparable sales growth of 9.8% (a fall of 6.2% a year ago).
Mr. Murray said the company reaffirmed its previously announced 2018-19 group sales guidance of total sales of around $7.1 billion, comprising: JB HI-FI Australia $4.75 billion; JB HI-FI New Zealand, (NZD) $0.22 billion; and The Good Guys, $2.15 billion.
