KEY POINTS:
Fisher & Paykel Appliances is reporting revenue up 2.2 per cent for the 10 months to the end of January.
In a market update today, the company said margins continued to remain under pressure.
Appliances also reported indicative bids had been received for its finance business and selected parties had started due diligence.
That process was expected to finish by the end of next month or early April, at which point a decision would be made as to whether the business would be sold.
"Whilst the global economic situation is currently in some turmoil and confusion, overall the group believes it is strongly placed to take advantage of any upturn in its major markets when they occur," Appliances said.
A planned shift of its laundry products and electronics factories to Thailand was progressing smoothly and an announcement on the location of a new North American DishDrawer facility was expected soon.
Reporting on the countries in which it operates, Appliances said that while the New Zealand market overall was down more than 4 per cent on the corresponding period last year, sales revenue lifted from the half year to finish 2.9 per cent up for the 10 months to the end of January.
That could be attributed to a higher average selling price and an increase in market share, the company said.
The Australian market continued to perform well, with new product releases in laundry and refrigeration being well received by the market. The new products had lifted the average selling price in Australia.
Sales revenue was up 17.2 per cent, and overall the Fisher & Paykel brand in Australia had continued to gain market share in the past 10 months.
The strength of both the New Zealand and Australian dollars continued to favour other importers considerably in both markets, while the cost of new product introductions had impacted margins slightly.
In North America , Appliances' total sales revenue was down 2.1 per cent, which was substantially better than the industry average.
As the US market had contracted, competitor activity had intensified, the company said.
Even as total revenue was down in North America, the Fisher & Paykel and DCS brands continued to make gains in the market and combined revenue for the two brands was up 5.1 per cent on the corresponding period last year.
That growth had been supported by a substantial increase in advertising spending over the previous year, Appliances said.
European sales revenue was up 29.1 per cent on the previous year, while in the rest of the world sales were up 13.6 per cent with Singapore and Hong Kong showing pleasing growth year on year.
Raw material pricing had been relatively stable in recent times, albeit at high levels, and uncertainty remained, especially for steel- and oil-based products, Appliances said.
Contractual agreements were in place for most raw materials until June 2008.
Appliances' shares were up 15c around 11am to $2.72.
- NZPA
