Harvey Norman sales surge

SYDNEY - Harvey Norman Holdings, Australia's biggest furniture and electronics retailer, says demand for flat-panel televisions and technology products doubled its third-quarter sales growth to 18 per cent.

Sales rose to A$1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) in the three months to March 31 from A$926 million a year ago, executive chairman Gerry Harvey said.

Last year, Harvey Norman's third-quarter sales rose 7.7 per cent. Third-quarter sales from stores open at least a year rose 10 per cent.

Gerry Harvey is increasing his range of technology products to tap rising demand for iPods, flat-panel televisions and digital cameras as consumer spending recovers from the impact of last year's rise in fuel prices.

He is also buying Australian rivals and expanding overseas.

"They are picking up momentum," said Greg Fraser, an analyst at Shaw Stockbroking in Sydney, who rates the stock "hold".

"Spending on digital lifestyle gadgets has really increased and that's the story for Harvey Norman, where most of the sales come from computers and consumer electronics."

Shares of Harvey Norman rose 5c to A$3.86 at the 4.15pm market close in Sydney, extending this year's gain to 32 per cent.

For the nine months, sales rose 13 per cent. Sales from stores open at least a year rose 7.6 per cent over the period, accelerating from the 5.1 per cent pace of the year earlier.

"Technology products are driving our sales. The really hot products at the moment are the digital cameras and MP3 players," Gerry Harvey, 66, said. "We stock every new technology product that comes out and they are really belting out the door."

Last year, the company bought six Megamart electrical stores from Coles Myer, Australia's biggest retailer.

It also opened stores in Slovenia, Ireland and Malaysia.

Harvey Norman finance director John Skippen said sales were typically boosted by major sporting events and would get an extra lift this quarter as Australia makes its first appearance in the soccer World Cup in 32 years.

- BLOOMBERG, REUTERS