By Claire Reilly
SYDNEY, NSW: Following on from the announcement of a strong profit turnaround for the 2011 financial year, the chairman of Fisher & Paykel, Keith Turner, and the CEO, Stuart Broadhurst, have spoken about the company’s financial expectations for 2012 and new initiatives in product development.
Speaking at the annual shareholders meeting in Auckland, Turner said that “forecasting the appliances business in the current environment remains extremely difficult.
“The first quarter result, combined with a weak retail outlook in Australia…are likely to result in the appliances’ businesses first half operating earnings before interest and tax being at or slightly above breakeven,” said Turner.
“The second half of the year has traditionally provided the majority of the full year earnings,” he added. “The Board remains concerned about volatile economic conditions in our key markets, in particular Australia, and potential for further increases in raw material prices.
“If these concerns are realised over the remainder of the financial year, and current exchange rates persist, the Board’s view is that appliances’ full year forecast operating earnings before interest and tax will be between $10 million and $20 million.
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Despite this cautious outlook, Turner noted that there were positive prospects on the horizon.
“The appliances business has increased its component and technology business,” said Turner. “The signing of two significant motor contracts this year is a positive development in this area, although earnings from these new contracts will not begin to show until the 2013 financial year.”
Fisher & Paykel CEO Stuart Broadhurst added to Turner’s comments, discussing the company’s outlook regarding new product developments. These included the launch of new refrigeration products in North America and upgraded washing machine models in Australia and New Zealand that offer a increased capacity and water efficiency.
“This year will see the release of our cooking ‘companion’ product line,” Broadhurst added, “including built-in coffee makers, combination microwave ovens, steam oven and compact oven. This line-up is important for our entry into the Chinese market, but also complements our global high-end kitchen offering.”
Broadhurst also noted the upcoming launch of the gas on glass cooktop and DishDrawer dishwasher.
“The investment in new product development is delivering results and we have several more new product introductions coming over the next year,” he said. “All this builds on our heritage of design and customer led innovation. This is exciting for our customers, our team, and the future of Fisher & Paykel.”