Listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, Sydney-based distributor, McPherson’s, appears to have met with problems when seeking to sell its ‘Home Appliances Group’.
Home Appliances Group distributes kitchen products in Australia from brands such as Euromaid, Baumatic, IAG, ARC, Lemair, Venini, Lofra and Prossimo.
Earlier this year, ChannelNews exclusively revealed that McPherson’s had called for expressions-of-interest, concerning the sale of its house brand appliance company, which had notably suffered after the collapse of Woolworths-owned Masters.
ChannelNews revealed that an expression-of-interest document had been issued to many interested parties, inclusive of a Harvey Norman-linked entity, plus two overseas distributors which have operations in Australia.
Following its latest report to shareholders, it now seems McPherson’s has held onto the struggling group.
McPherson’s latest report to shareholders states:
“Strategic investments have been made within the Home Appliances business to grow both market share and profitability in the Retail and Commercial channels”.
The company’s latest full-year earnings report states that its Home Appliances division slipped by 7%.
McPherson’s states the division contributed to 25% of Group revenue in FY2017.
Concerning its outlook for the future, Managing Director, Laurence McAllister, states that the company’s key operational priorities for FY 2018 include a bid to “execute profitable growth in the Retail and Commercial Home Appliances channels”.
The distributor states the EBIT (earnings before income tax) for the Home Appliances division has resulted in a re-assessment of the carrying value of intangible assets, generating non-cash impairments of $7 million and $5 million, in goodwill and brand names respectively.
Earlier this year, ChannelNews also debunked comments made in 2016 by former McPherson’s CEO, which claimed revenues of about $100 million, and affirmed that the company was growing 20% annually.
