Miele Australia has reported a drop in both profits and revenue despite the local subsidiary of the German appliance making jacking up prices last year, the business has managed to significantly increase deposit revenue taken from consumers.

Profit after tax fell from $11.59M to $9.49 million a fall of over $2M.

Sales at the Melbourne based Company who used the IFA trade show in Belin recently to launch new products and spruik their environmental credentials fell from $406.79M to $398.72M in Australia with their prices rises failing to deliver an increase in sales.

The good news for Miele is that the business as of December 31st, 2021, was sitting on $54M of customers deposits Vs $36M at the same time in the prior year.

In 2021 the German business lifted prices between 5% and 8% across all product categories with the business claiming that the recent International turmoil spanning rising freight costs, processors, and the situation in European which has seen the business in some of their plants switch from gas to electricity to manufacture selective products due to the Russian Ukraine crisis had impacted the business.

In Australia it appears that the business was not impacted by freight price rises with their financials which were filed on the 17th of August 2022 revealing that their freight expenses actually fell from $10.18M to $10,025M due in part to the business shipping less products in the period.

The business was also not helped by a significant increase in advertising and marketing costs which went from $16.5M in 2020 to $21.35M in 2022.

 

Profit before tax fell from $19.2M to $16.09M in 2021 due in part to the increase in marketing spend in Australia.

When asked about the price rises and the impact on the business by one trade publication Miele Australia marketing director, Michele Laghazza was quoted claiming “The logistics scenario seems to be improving somewhat with good impact on the business in the very short-term. However, we are paying a lot of attention to the semi-conductor crisis which potentially might have an impact in the mid-term.”

She also claimed in 2021 that Miele’s core business indicators were positive and there were no signs of the market slowing down.

Revenues from service which is seen as being expensive for Miele products, came in at $18.64M this was down from the $21.6M in 2020 which was during the height of COVID.

Despite many Companies experiencing wage blow outs Miele Australia was able to reduce their headcount costs from $39.6M to $39.3M.

It also appears that stock levels of Miele products have blown out.

As of December 31st, 2021, Miele was sitting on $46M dollars’ worth, of stock, this was significantly up from the $33.3M on December 31, 2020. Goods in Transit was also up despite falling sales from $36M in December 2020 to $49M on December 31, 2021.

Total stock levels of all products stood at $113M Vs $88M at the start of COVID.

The business has not said whether they have been able to clear these stock levels during 2022 as the market slows due to the problems outlined by the Companies Marketing Director.

Last year Miele opened a new direct sell flagship store in Doncaster Victoria.

At IFA 2022 Miele management claimed that they can protect the environment and the climate while helping customers.

They also released a new Miele App that features a new Consumption Dashboard which records how much water and electricity is used by dishwashers and washing machines during each wash cycle, guiding users on how to use appliances more efficiently.

Miele also revealed a K 4000 generation free-standing refrigerator range, equipped with an array of features that promise greater sustainability in the kitchen.

One feature is PerfectFresh Active, an innovative system which keeps fruit and vegetables fresher for longer.