Profits get fair go, if not ovens

By PAUL PANCKHURST

Exploding oven doors and profit forecasts were the topics of the day at the Fisher & Paykel Appliances inaugural annual meeting in Auckland yesterday.

Shareholders at the Ellerslie Convention Centre wanted to know about the former after seeing the company feature in television programme Fair Go's investigative series on the topic.

Analysts were waiting for the latter - and had their expectations surpassed.

On the subject of those oven doors: chairman Gary Paykel launched a mild assault on the television programme's coverage, saying Fair Go had "not been having a fair go", and describing the programme's makers as "not the best listeners in the world".

Managing director John Bongard was keen to emphasise that exploding ovens were "not the rampant epidemic that we're being led to believe".

Analysts were more interested in a profit forecast that turned out to be significantly ahead of expectations. "Much, much better than the market has been expecting," said one.

Paykel said the company expected a group net profit after tax of , ore than $30 million for the six months to September 30, which included a $5 million dividend paid by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare last month.

That compares to $12 million for the same period last year.

F&P Appliances is made up of the appliances business and a finance business.

Talking about the appliances business, Bongard said earnings before interest and tax for the half year were expected to be more than double the $18.1 million for the same period last year.

He pointed to strong sales in Australia and New Zealand, the cornerstone of F&P Appliances' revenue, as underpinning the company's performance.

In updates on a range of topics, the company said:

* An Australian Customs inquiry into F&P Appliances' allegations of the dumping of Korean washing Machines across the Tasman was expected to be wrapped up in late December.

* F&P Finance was about to introduce a retail consumer credit card.

* The group had reviewed the independence of auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers and developed an "audit charter" after the run of overseas accounting scandals.

* Appliance sales had slowed in the United States as consumer confidence fell away.

However, the company still expected a 20 per cent gain in the fiscal year as new product lines came through.

An estimated 130 shareholders turned out for the meeting.

F&P Appliances split from its sister healthcare company last year.