Pre-tax profits at the Irish arm of consumer electronic and furniture retailer Harvey Norman last year increased by 28% to €12.95m as the retail trading environment here continued to improve.
New accounts show that pre-tax profits increased at Harvey Norman Holdings (Ireland) Ltd as revenues rose by 4% from €425.06m to €444.05m for the 12 months to the end of June 2025.
The directors state that the sales increase was across all categories with all stores performing strongly compared to the prior year.
2025 was the eight year of profitability for the Irish business in a row and the group paid out dividends of €8.63m last year.
The directors state that the retail trading environment here continued to improve, supported by elevated consumer confidence driven by easing inflationary pressures and a stable labour market.
The directors state that investment in housing is a Government priority aimed at easing pressures in both the housing and rental markets “and this is expected to underpin growth in furniture, bedding and electrical retail sales”.
New product launches across core categories, according to the directors, have proven highly effective in driving consumer engagement in an increasingly competitive retail environment.
They state that the mobile phone and computer technology categories delivered strong results in FY25 with the launch of the Next Gen-AI technology boosting laptop sales.
The directors state that gross margin was slightly down by 0.45% on 2024 and this was primarily due to inflated shipping costs in the first half of the financial year.
Last year, operating expenses rose in line with sales growth with marketing, warehousing and distribution costs increasing year on year.
The directors state that wage costs across the group increased following the increase in the minimum wage in January 2025.
Last year, numbers employed by the business reduced from 1,433 to 1,386 as staff costs rose from €58.02m to €58.9m.
Numbers employed reduced as Harvey Norman’s Irish operation – which operates 16 stores in the Republic – sold its Northern Ireland business to Harvey Norman Trading UK through a trade sale and it was completed in November 2024.
The accounts show that the group booked a €1.22m gain from the sale of the Northern Ireland business while to the end of November 2024, the Northern Ireland business, comprising two stores, generated revenues of €5.72m.
The discontinued Northern Ireland business sustained an operating loss of €962,724 for the period to the end of November 2024.
The group recorded post tax profits of €10.65m last year after incurring a corporation tax charge of €2.13m.
The profit last year takes account of non cash depreciation costs of €5.6m while lease costs increased from €16.05m to €17m.
Directors’ pay including pension payments of €17,500 increased from €677,759 to €719,635.
At the end of June 2025, the group had shareholder funds of €74.83m. Cash funds decreased from €13.05m to €3.3m.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan