The company also reduced its cost-of-doing-business by 106 basis points to 13.66%, while it grew 17% in absolute terms because of continued investment in new stores and strategic initiatives.
JB Hi-Fi NZ’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) lifted 107.2% from $9m to $18.7m, with ebitda margin up 147 basis points from 2.28% to 3.74%.
JB Hi-Fi group chief executive Nick Wells said he was pleased to report record sales and solid earnings for the financial year.
“In an uncertain retail environment where customers are seeking value, our brands continued to resonate and our team continued to execute to a high standard,” Wells said.
JB Hi-Fi NZ confirmed its intent to open two new stores in the 2027 financial year, with one store to be relocated, taking the company’s total store count to 28.
Over the past four years, JB Hi-Fi NZ has doubled its store network with three opening in the past year.
Trading outlook
The company gave a July performance update in its first outlook for the 2027 financial year, with JB Hi-Fi NZ reporting sales growth of 20.9% and comparable sales growth of 11.7%.
Wells said the business continues to see variability in trading, with customers increasingly looking for value and migrating spend to key promotional events.
Supplier price rises and stock availability concerns were also highlighted as challenges to sales growth in the technology category, likely a reference to increasing prices for memory because of rising demand for artificial intelligence.
“As always, we will remain focused on driving demand and growing market share through creating great value offers for our customers, leveraging our strong supplier relationships to maximise stock allocations and delivering exceptional customer service.”
The wider group performance, including JB Hi-Fi Australia, The Good Guys, and e&s, saw sales lift 4.8% to a record A$11 billion, up A$509.2m year-on-year.
The group reported ebitda of A$734.4m, up 5.8% year-on-year, with a net profit of A$489.9m, up 6% year-on-year.
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
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