ASX Earnings Wrap: Harvey Norman profit slumps, competitor Joyce Corp jumps

It’s earnings season again as the ASX market announcements page becomes increasingly flooded with earnings lodgements.

To save you the trouble of trudging through it all, we’ve wrapped up the highlights from some of the reports that caught our eye.

Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN)

Highlights:

Full year EBITDA of $1.13bn, down from $1.43bn in the pcp
NPAT of $539.52m, down from $811.53m in the pcp
Net assets of $4.46bn, up from $4.29bn in FY22

Harvey Norman reported a 32% decrease in NPAT, meeting its guidance.

While sales in its Australian franchises stores fell 4.9% and NZ stores fell 8%, its Malaysian operation was the top revenue generator, up 9.2% on the pcp.

Executive chairman Gerry Harvey noted that the company has delivered a substantial 40% growth in net assets since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We are committed to delivering stable returns and sustainable growth for our stakeholders” and “on track to deliver our Malaysian expansion plans announced last year, and are committed to strengthening our brands and global footprint,” Harvey said.

The board declared a final dividend of 12¢ per share, taking the year to 25¢. This compares to the 37.5¢ paid a year ago.

Joyce Corporation (ASX:JYC)

Highlights:

Full year revenue of $144.7m, up 12% on pcp
NPAT of $17.7m, up 28% on pcp
Fully franked dividend of 17.5c vs 10.5c in the pcp

The retail bedding stores company’s shares surged 30% this morning after the company delivered a much improved full year performance.

The group’s core business, KWB and Bedshed, maintained their strong position in the market.

But the company conceded that successive interest rates rises are starting to impact household spending.

“Despite this, the Group’s overall performance thoroughout the year has been satisfying,” says CEO, Dan Madden.

“The company is in a good position with capital light and high-margin businesses that provide a solid footing for us to compete strongly,” he added.

However, Madden says trading in FY24 has begun with a softening of orders compared to the prior year. Both KWB and Bedshed are down in terms of sales in FY24 trading so far.

BlueBet Holdings (ASX:BBT)

Highlights:

Full year EBITDA loss of $18.3m vs $5.5m in the pcp
Net cash was -$14.8m, down from $1.5m in the pcp
Strong trading performance in Australia despite challenges

Bluebet fell 8% after accelerating its losses compared to previous year.

CEO Bill Richmond said FY23 was a year of strategic execution and laying platforms for long-term growth in Australia and the United States.

The Australian business returned to operating cashflow positive in H2 after making additional marketing investments in the first half.

The company is also gaining market share in Australia despite increased competition, with active customers up 25.5% to 66,929.

In the US, good progress was made with Iowa and Colorado going live, while Louisiana and Indiana approvals are pending.

“We are well positioned to grow with the market in the US and share our expertise as we commence phase 2 of our B2B strategy in the US to complement our B2C channels,” said Madden.

No guidance for FY24 was provided.

Rhinomed (ASX:RNO)

Highlights:

Full year revenue down 17.9% on pcp to $7.47m
Loss of -$11.05m, a bigger loss of 109% from last year
No dividends paid

The nasal and respiratory medical device company said the focus in FY23 has been to optimise its wearable technology platform across both the sleep and respiratory consumer health markets.

During the year, Rhinomed has continued to add new retail chains to its global retail network. This has included both pharmacy and grocery retailers in the US, the UK and in Australia.

Its flagship, the Rhinoswab, continued to gain momentum, as growth of the home testing market has been significant over the course of the last 12 months.

The company said that during the year, it has focussed on getting rapid antigen test companies to include the Rhinoswab in their test kits, and those companies are currently awaiting regulatory approvals.

“As investors with a knowledge of the medical technology sector will appreciate, the regulatory process is both long and complex,” the company said.

“Rhinomed remains confident that by working closely with its partners, we can navigate the regulatory pathways and deliver the appropriate regulatory approvals in a timely manner.”

Rhinomed’s share price was down 15% today.

Good Drinks Australia (ASX:GDA)

Highlights:

Doubled its market share of the Australian beer market to 2.5%
Full year revenue was up 52% on pcp to $106.2m
Gross Profit was up 27% to $60m

GDA said it continues to outperform the retail beer market in challenging market conditions, doubling its share of the Aussie beer market to 2.5%.

In FY23, GDA says competitive market forces led to temporarily lower revenue per litre, but has since recovered.

Supply chain disruptions were also a major theme during the year, and cost of goods increased due to international freight costs surges, which has since normalised.

In FY23, GDA also completed its transition away from contract brewing.

Looking ahead to FY24, cost of living pressures and softer discretionary spending will continue to be major themes, and as such GDA will no longer provide short term earnings guidance.

“However, we are confident that maintaining our strategy of growing market share of own -brands to 20m litres,” noted the company.