ARN

JB Hi-Fi shakes off economic gloom and raises profit guidance

Retailer forecasts 58 per cent increase in profit and upgrades its guidance figure to $64 million for the current financial year

Listed retail chain, JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH), is defying the shaky economic climate and forecasting a 58 per cent increase in profit for the current financial year.

The company has upgraded its profit guidance figure to $64 million for the year ending June 30, a significantly increase on the previous year's net profit of $40.4 million. The previous guidance figure was set between $57 to $60 million. The retailer is also expecting 30 per cent sales growth.

Despite a slow down in consumer spending, CEO, Richard Uechtritz, said it had a pretty strong business model.

"We're not totally in the electrical business, we're also in home entertainment and technology. I think that area of discretionary expenditure has given a little bit more priority than some other areas," he said.

Positive contributors to growth included games, computers and audiovisual, which includes MP3 players and flat screen televisions, Uechtritz said.

In February, JB Hi-Fi launched its first dedicated IT and computer store in Victoria. Uechtritz said it did not plan to establish more IT and computer dedicated shop fronts.

Uechtritz forecast a tough year ahead for all retailers.

"We're focused on keeping our retail formula as it is and doing all the right things that we need to do to be successful," he said.

JB Hi-Fi planned to add another 24 stores nationally over FY09, Uechtritz said, the largest amount of stores the retailer has opened in a year. It currently has 88 stores across Australia and New Zealand.

The company expects to reach $2.35 billion in sales in FY09, making it the sixth largest local retailer ahead of David Jones and sitting behind Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Harvey Norman, Myer and Aldi.

Come socialise with us! Facebook | LinkedIn

More about: Billion, David Jones, Harvey Norman, Norman, WESFARMERS, Woolworths
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
ARN Directory | Distributors relevant to this article
Aquion , Capital Security Solutions , Leader Computers , Westan , XiT Distribution
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/transition-systems-australia/2010-11-15_345_new-wan-optimisation-available
Transition Systems Australia

NEW. WAN Optimisation Available.

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.