Harvey Norman's sales up

Local consumer electronics retailer said sales from its franchises in Australia, New Zealand, Slovenia and Ireland totalled $4.5 billion.

In a statement to the Australian Stock Echange (ASX) the publicly listed company said when compared to sales for the period 1 July 2007 to 31 March last year, the increase was 3.6 percent.

Like for like sales increased 1.2 percent for the nine months ended 31 March when compared to the same period in 2008.

On a quarterly basis, sales from the franchised Harvey Norman complexes, commercial divisions and other sales outlets in A/NZ, Slovenia and Ireland (excluding Singapore), totalled $1.39 billion for the third quarter ended 31 March.

When compared to sales for the period 1 January to 31 March 2008 - the increase was 3.9 percent.

Like for like sales increased 1 percent for the third quarter ended 31 March, when compared to the same corresponding quarter ended last year.

In Australia, for the quarter ended 31 March, sales from franchised Harvey Norman complexes, commercial divisions and other sales outlets, increased by 4.9 percent, an increase of 3.2 like for like sales when compared to the same quarter last year.

Chris Mentis, chief financial officer was cautious about the rise in sales.

"Given the current macroeconomic conditions, retail margins continue to be under pressure," he said.