By Patrick Avenell
SYDNEY, NSW: Thorn Group, the listed company that owns Radio Rentals, Rentlo and BigBrownBox.com.au, today announced a profit forecast of almost $18 million for the year to 31 March 2009. This impressive news emphasises just how beneficial the economic crisis has been for the organisation.
Talking about the profit projection, which is estimated at between $16.8 million and $17.8 million is managing director John Hughes.
“The growth in profitability from the core business really underlines the ability of the organisation to not only perform strongly during the good times but also through times of economic uncertainty,” he said.
“The business is built on a very solid base of recurring revenue streams which provides a sound level of confidence going forward and provides a firm foundation for future strategic development.”
Hughes said that flat panel televisions, PCs, refrigerators and washing machines had been especially good performers this year. The positioning of the brand, to take advantage of consumers who need appliances but do not want to make large investments, has proven to be a clear winner during the recession we may or may not have had.
“It also [sic] pleasing to report that the increase in profitability is resulting from a combination of factors including high levels of new customers, consistently low levels of customer arrears and bad debts, along with stringent cost controls.”