Singapore was stand-out performer.
Harvey Norman’s first-quarter preliminary profit before tax has risen 25.9% to $115.6 million, with sales up in most countries, excluding Slovenia, Ireland and Northern Ireland. Singapore sales increased by 26.5%, while comparable sales for the New Zealand stores increased 14.8% and Australian franchisees boosted sales by 5.4%, in the three months to September 30.
Aggregated sales for the three months ended 30 September 2016 totaled $1.69 billion, an increase of 6.6% in comparison to the previous corresponding period. Sales were positively affected by a 6.2% appreciation in the New Zealand dollar and negatively affected by a 4% devaluation in the Euro, an 18.9% devaluation in the UK Pound, a 1.6% devaluation in the Singaporean dollar and a 4.3% devaluation in the Malaysian Ringgit.
The unaudited preliminary group’s profit before tax and non-controlling interests is up from $91.8 million in the same period last year.