Retailer Harvey Norman has informed shareholders of a 36 per cent plunge in profits during the four months much of the country was in COVID-19 enforced lockdowns.
In a notice to the market this morning, the retailer said unaudited preliminary profit before tax during the period of July 1 to October 31 was down 35.5 per cent on the same period the year prior.
For the same period, sales revenue fell 8.8 per cent year-on-year and comparable aggregated sales decreased by 9.6 per cent.
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Unaudited accounts show the profit for the four months to the end of October 2021 sits at $217.42 million, compared to $337.11 million for the same period in 2020 – marking a decrease of almost $120 million.
Despite the shock falls, the retailer noted to shareholders sales revenue and profit were still drastically up – 16.9 per cent and 70.1 per cent respectively – when compared to the same period pre-pandemic in 2019.
Directors of Harvey Norman said Delta strain lockdowns punched a hole in the retailer's bottom line.
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"Rolling lockdowns in most states and territories of Australia have affected sales in the months of July 2021 through to November 2021, even though Contactless Click & Collect and home delivery were operating for customers from 194 Australian franchised complexes," the retailer told shareholders.
"Over 15 million people, or approximately 58 per cent of the Australian population, were in lockdown from July 2021 until the respective State Governments eased lockdown restrictions upon reaching certain vaccination milestones."
The retailer, which boasts 220 stores globally, held its Annual General Meeting virtually today where it informed shareholders of its current retail trading.
