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On Monday, Star entered a binding term sheet with Bally’s; the investment takes the form of a multi-tranche convertible note and subordinated debt interest.

Bally’s will provide Star with $100 million on or before Wednesday, April 9, then follow this up with an additional $200M pending a shareholder vote to approve the transaction and regulatory approvals; alternatively, the second tranche will be paid in two parts: $100M to be paid to Star after shareholders have approved, and another $100M after regulatory approvals being received.

In terms of the latter, the million-dollar payment would be received no later than October 7, should regulatory approvals be outstanding.

Also in the works is a discussion with Investment Holdings Pty Ltd – Star’s biggest shareholder, which is controlled by the Mathieson family – to consider whether it could provide up to $100M of the investment.

Any decision on that front would then reduce Bally’s contribution to $200M.

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Star’s board unanimously recommended support for the Bally buy among shareholders, with a meeting to be held in late June to vote for this.

Star shares last traded at 11 cents before halting some weeks ago.

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At the top of the changelist was the appointment of former David Jones executive Kathy Karabatsas as Group Chief Financial Officer to replace Matt Jackman, who had held the position since February 2024.

Myer will also be replacing its Chief People Officer; Megan Collins is stepping into the role from next month, bringing human resources experience in the mining, food retail, and energy sectors, including at General Electric and Newcrest Mining.

The company’s new Chief Merchandising Officer will be Belinda Slifkas – who already works for Myer as General Merchandise Manager Apparel, Home, and Entertainment.

Two other appointees from outside Myer include new Chief Information Officer Mark Medwell – who has been with Cotton On for more than eight years – and Darren Wedding, appointed Chief Supply Chain Officer. The latter joins Myer after previous experience at multi-brand business Super Retail Group.

Also added to the executive lineup will be a newly created role, ‘Chief Product Officer,’ which Myer is currently recruiting for. That appointee is set to take on responsibility for Myer Exclusive Brands as well as private brands like Sass and Bide, Marcs, and David Lawrence.

Executive chair Olivia Wirth said these developments would help steer Myer in a strong new direction. “These leadership changes materially enhance our capability to drive the next phase of growth for the expanded Myer Group,” she said.

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“The new appointments bring world-class expertise in multi-brands and departmentstore environments and a track record of financial, retail and supply chain success to the Myer Group.

“The reshaped team is aligned to our strategic vision to create a leading Australian retail platform, building on the strength of our brands with the fresh thinking and expertise of experienced retail, sourcing and supply chain leaders.”

Myer has been trading at 74 cents.

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The transaction is expected to wrap up in March 2025 and involves the Bonaire centre, which was closed until February due to flooding from October.

As a result, refurbishment has been completed on the common areas and retail units on the ground floor, with some tenants using this as an opportunity to upgrade their stores. The occupancy rate of Bonaire is currently 98%, with approximately 80% of stores either reopened or expected to be by the end of March.

Given the impact of the flooding, URW has now given Castellana an 18-month NOI guarantee – including a cap of €32.9 million to cover the stabilization period.

However, it is expected only a marginal part of this will actually be utilised to the fullest considering the strong occupancy levels in Bonaire right now.

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The sale ensures URW has completed or secured €900 million worth of transactions this year, helping to reduce its proportionate net debt.

URW shares have been trading at $6.36.

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Odeon is on Vista’s books as using its Managed Services offering in the U.K., Ireland, Portugal, and Spain, and this new agreement – which will last five years – includes more than 309 sites and 2,448 sites, with this comprising the majority of managed, and all owned sites outside the United States.

Finland’s Finnkino circuit, which comprises 17 sites, will be the first to go live under the new arrangement; this is planned for the second half of 2025. The U.K. and Ireland – with 114 sites – will then follow this in 2026.

Vista Group CEO Stuart Dickinson said the importance of continuing a business relationship with Odeon, a subsidiary of the largest cinema operator in the world, AMC Cinemas, could not be overstated.

“This significant move underscores Odeon Cinemas Group’s confidence in our technology and strategic direction,” he explained.

“Odeon Cinemas Group is a real force in the industry and this transition is a testament to the robust capabilities and future-proof nature of our solutions.

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“It is the latest example of how we are effectively executing our strategy to provideremarkable solutions that meet our clients’ evolving needs.”

Vista has been trading at $3.33 a share at market open on Tuesday.

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That ended up being the subject of a very Trumpian lawsuit given the City of Chicago wanted Bally’s to ensure disadvantaged groups would benefit from the casino.

So an IPO was offered to women and people of colour, which went about as well as you’d expect. That’s neither here nor there, but clearly, Bally’s is still on a bent towards international expansion.

And Bally – or its Chair, Soo Kim – has been looking at Star since mid-late February. Kim reported ‘getting calls for well over a year’ about Star, which he described as “a troubled casino.”

In an interview with Inside Asian Gaming, Soo Kim last month made clear Bally’s has some exposure to the Australian landscape and so, ultimately, why not?

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A site visit at three key Star locations across three states at the end of last month has now transpired into a desire by Bally’s to take a run at Star.

Kim has described himself as being like a firefighter when buildings are burning, if that’s anything to go off.

Whether or not this truly means a turnaround opportunity for Star remains to be seen – so too does what Bally’s will have to do to keep other proposed suitors happy.

At least this way, Star might be able to publish an earnings report.

SGR last traded at 11cps before it was halted in Week 10.

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In a statement, Star – which runs casinos in Sydney, Brisbane, and on Queensland’s Gold Coast – told investors it would be unlikely to be able to submit these accounts without achieving a financing deal that would allow it to refinance the company’s current corporate debt and provide additional liquidity.

Star’s board met over the weekend to discuss potential funding deals to sidestep the possibility of collapse, as the company reels under the pressures of revenue slumps and legal action from regulators.

The company has been under scrutiny from the latter since a 2021 state government inquiry in New South Wales revealed a failure by Star’s board to respond appropriately to anti-money laundering and counter terrorism perils.

The unexpectedly high cost of its Queen’s Wharf project in Brisbane has also weighed on the company’s finances.

This precinct, which Star owns alongside Chow Tai Fook Enterprises and Far East Consortium, holds a debt of $1.6 billion.

However, having failed to cut a deal during the weekend talks, Star reiterated concerns – in its statement on Monday – that the group may not have the capacity to continue as an entity, given its financial difficulties and failure to cut a deal to repair this.

When it last traded on Friday, the Star’s shares sold at 11 cents each.

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The company’s aggregated headline franchisee sales revenue number was $3.34 billion, while the company-operated sales revenue was $1.49 billion.

Harvey Norman posted an interim dividend per share of 12 cents; up from 10 cents in the prior corresponding period.

Chairman Gerry Harvey said the first half of FY2025 had been a strong one, noting the profit reading in particular occurred during a time of greater pressure on retailers.

“Total assets have surpassed the $8 billion milestone for the first time, reaching $8.25B as at 31 December 2024,” he said. “Prudent and efficient working capital management across key segments has continued to deliver strong operating cash flows of $448.10 million at a cash conversion ratio of 118.8%.”

Harvey Norman has been trading at $5.09.

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The agreements – secured through global tool manufacturer Positec – provide Stealth with exclusive selling rights across all market channels for 5 years in the case of Wesco and Harden Hand Tools, alongside a 3-year term for CAT Power Tools.

This will be done through Stealth’s multiple retail channels, which include company owned stores, reseller stores in trade and retail – including network licensee member stores, B2B sales contact centres and field sales representatives, and online sales channels.

Managing director and CEO Mike Arnold said the agreement marked a ‘game-changing’ milestone for Stealth, particularly within the framework of its FY28 growth plan.

“Securing the exclusive distribution rights for these leading brands highlights our commitment to delivering high-quality products, greater value, and enhanced experiences to our customers, while strengthening our market position and accelerating our FY28 growth ambitions,” he said.

“Annual contract purchasing commitments are set to increase year-on-year as we penetrate markets and channels.

“By the FY28 period, commitments across the three contracts, extrapolated into wholesale-level sales guidance based on projected sell-through, are expected to exceed $30 million, with strong margin contributions above 40%, excluding additional margins from company-owned retail stores.”

The company’s revenue target – according to the FY28 plan – is $300 million.

At 16:40 AEDT, shares in Stealth were trading at 73 cents – a rise of 15.87% since the market opened.

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The company’s revenue for the period was also higher – by 9% – coming in at $12.13B, and while Qantas did not announce of pay any dividends during this period, the board said it would announce a base dividend of $250 million, paid out on the basis of an interim dividend of 16.5 cents per share (cps).

Growth in international operations meant that Qantas had a strong half year for passenger revenue, which grew 9%, while loyalty programs also continued to perform strongly.

A key focus for Qantas during the half year period was the upgrading of its fleet: with 16 aircraft delivered, including 6 new A321LRs, 2 new A320neos, 3 new A220-300s, 2 mid-life A319-100s and 3 mid-life Q400s.

Also added were 3 E190s brought online through Qantas’ wet lease arrangements with Alliance Airlines.

CEO Vanessa Hudson said these and other changes would provide a strong foundation going forward.

“Having a strong business means we can invest in our customers and our people, including our largest ever fleet renewal and cabin overhaul programs,” she said.

“Qantas and Jetstar made travel possible for more Australians, carrying 28 million customers, with around one third of Jetstar customers travelling for under $100 at a time of ongoing cost of living pressures.”

Qantas traded higher after this news, and by 16:23 AEDT, they were trading at $9.42 – a rise of 5.96% since the market opened.

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That’s up from $53.5 million in the prior comparable period, the company added.

Earnings (or really, EBIT: Earnings before interest and tax) were 10.7% higher, for $90.2 million in HY25, while revenue had risen 8.8% to $405.9M.

During the period, the jewellery retailer opened up 57 new stores, bringing the total to 943 for the end of the half-year period (ending December 29). The openings included Lovisa’s first franchises in the Ivory Coast, the Republic of Congo, and Panama.

Chief executive officer Victor Herrero said the data reflected both the underlying retail strength of the company, but also its growth in stores.

“Lovisa has once again been able to deliver solid sales and profit growth, with the highlight another outstanding Gross Margin performance, and the store rollout accelerating in Q2,” Mr Herrero said.

“I want to again share my appreciation to the global Lovisa team for their hard work to be able to achieve these solid results.”

Lovisa Holdings has been trading at $29.30 today.

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In its report for the first half of the 2025 fiscal year, JB Hi-Fi said its group sales had risen 9.8% – to $5.67 billion – while EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) was up 8.6% to $419.9 million, and NPAT (net profit after tax) had increased 8%, to $285.4 million.

The company also reported an interim dividend of 170cps; a rise of 12cps or 7.6%.

Increased sales were a pattern across the board: Good Guys brought sales of $1.52 billion, while total sales for e&s were up 7.6% to $92.3 million.

The reading was particularly strong in JB Hi-Fi New Zealand, where a rise of 20% was reported for total sales of NZD202.5 million. In Australia, sales were up 7.2% to $3.88 billion, driven by technology and electronics.

Group CEO Terry Smart said it had been a good six months for the company.

“In this challenging trading environment, marked by heightened competitor activity, our focus remained on maximising demand through delivering consistently high levels of customer service and exceptional value for our customers,” he said.

JB Hi-Fi has been trading at $102.45.

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Foundation is headed by the former founder of a company called Bytedance Entertainment, Stephen Found. While Found was active at Bytedance, the company had been wrapped up in gambling and gaming company Tattersall – which, of course, would eventually end up combining with Tabcorp.

Reports from the time say Bytedance established large TV screens inside casinos; another division of Tattersall called Bytedance Systems maintained pokie machines.

Found would later divest Bytedance, but clearly, he never strayed too far from the gaming world when he started a theatre production company.

Found had even moved to open a theatre at Star last year. He had already been working towards this around the same time Star posted a $1.3B loss across 2023.

In fact, his relationship with Star goes back to 2011. So, clearly, the man is known to the casino.

At any rate, it’s a good deal for Foundation. The buyer appeared to already be on a tear, given it has a new theatre set to open in Sydney next month.

In the background, Star is now looking around for non-core assets to sell as it desperately struggles to raise enough cash to survive until March when the NSW State Government again reviews the casino’s still-suspended licence.

The casino mentioned that it was, in recent history, in essence, running out of money.

“Foundation Theatres will pay a $60 million exclusivity fee in respect of the transaction into escrow on or before January 31 which will be released to The Star as consideration for the disposal subject to finalisation of the long-form transaction documents and satisfaction of conditions,” Star wrote on Wednesday.

SGR last traded at 12.3cps.

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In his new role, Mr Fitzsimons will oversee all core wagering functions including digital, retail, tote, trading, product, and marketing. He brings more than 20 years experience in global sports betting experience across Europe the U.S., and Asia.

The position was created as a result of Tabcorp’s simplified Executive LeadershipTeam structure – announced in December last year – which evolved to ensure that all wagering functions will fall under one executive.

At HKJC, Mr Fitzsimons has been in charge of strategy, trading, marketing, data, and product development for fixed odds, parimutuel, and lottery products. His current role encompasses oversight of one of the world’s largest totes, including the World Pool platform, along with Risk Management of China Sports Lottery’s 120,000 betting branches.

His prior experience includes the Stars Group, where he was director of International Trading and Operations; a role in which he successfully launched the PokerStars Sportsbook and relaunched SkyBet in Germany and Italy.

He is also on the executive of the World Tote Association (WoTA).

Tabcorp managing director and CEO elect Gillon McLachlan said bringing Mr Fitzsimons on board was an important achievement for the company, especially considering he’s “one of the world’s most sought-after wagering executives.”

“He has a deep knowledge of international sports betting, trading and tote,” he said.

“Michael is a rare find – he knows digital and retail wagering and is one of the few people in the world who can connect both to grow a wagering product.”

Tabcorp last traded at 62.2 cents – a rise of 5.5% since the market opened.

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After revealing earlier this month it’s been burning through millions in cash at a rate unsustainable – to such an extent some analysts now predict a 50/50 chance of bankruptcy – at 10.30am on Tuesday Sydney time, the stock price is at record low levels.

It’s not just Star – I’ve written before on how investors appear to be turning off the listed Australian casinos broadly following money laundering scandals – but Star currently looks a lot like it could be Canberra’s first true scalp in what has been a palpable crackdown period on the sector over the 2020’s thus far.

Because of that long-spanning crackdown, it hasn’t been an overnight journey to get here. It has been the death of a thousand cuts for the casino operator, now feeling the weight of numerous massive court fees (ultimately borne from intense government scrutiny,) a suspended operating licence, lengthy regulatory reviews, and now a tanking share price.

But that tanking share price has caused interest from intriguing places.

On Tuesday, Wall Street’s JP Morgan swooped in and increased its shareholding in Star while shares were worth 12.5cps, giving JP a 6.35% holding in the company.

JP Morgan picked up ~37M shares in the company, worth around $5M (rounding up). That was enough to boost shares to 14cps on Tuesday.

But even more tantalising was an investment from a relatively mysterious Macau-based Chinese investor, Xingchun Wang, who on Monday picked up 5.52% of the company.

Update: just before lunchtime on Tuesday, Star revealed Xinchung Wang’s shareholding now sits at 6.5%.

“Certain agreements entered into with Liquor and Gaming NSW and the QLD Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation contain restrictions prohibiting an individual from having a voting power of more than 10% in the Company,” the company wrote on Monday as it revealed Wang’s shareholding.

(This finance journalist can’t help but wonder if that was a message intended to be read by Xingchun himself.)

From the outset, it’s plain to see that should Star be snatched up by one entity or a consortium, there’s still the issue of those investors will effectively buy a casino that is still without a licence.

It will also be a casino attached to a brand probably well known for having lost a lot of investors’ money – one-year returns are down -73%.

The first issue is whether or not the NSW government will return Star’s licence at all, which is uncertain and responsibly unknowable.

Its licence suspension will next be reviewed in March by the NSW government, but given the rate of cash burn recently evidenced by Star itself, it’s not clear the company can even make it that far.

Should it do so, it’s clear to see the JP Morgan shareholding (larger than Xingchun Wang’s) will be the more likely contender to shift anything at all. Not only because the investment bank has a government affairs team, but also because the geopolitical China story doesn’t really permit a troubled casino presumably reopening under full-bore Chinese ownership.

But still, here it’s not knowable where, exactly, Star will eventually end up. Perhaps JP Morgan just wants the infrastructure.

SGR last traded at 12.5cps.

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The struggling casino operator took a huge hit to its share value yesterday, with the consumer company diving 33.3% after it alerted investors it had burned through as much as $100 million over the last three months to December.

Worryingly for shareholders, Star says it can last just “another six weeks.”

That short timeframe – and how resigned to it all Star’s management seems – has SGR investors panicking; not least billionaire Bruce Mathieson, the single biggest shareholder in the company. He told The Australian he can only see one of two things happening: “It either goes bankrupt, or someone buys it.”

The pub baron, who carries 9.59% of Star, has refused to offer any bailout money for the drowning operator until its looming AUSTRAC fines are finalised.

“No one will put any in until they know what those fines are going to be,” he warned.

That leaves Star staring down the barrel of a closure. It will release its half-year results sometime late in February (and what they may detail could be unflattering) but by then the company may be too far gone.

The casino operator has attempted to explain the cash burn-through by pointing to “difficult trading conditions” and a $15 million fine from the NICC in 2024.

Another huge weight on the coffers has been a provisioned $150M that Star has to hold in reserve for when the ever-looming AUSTRAC fines do come through: Should the operator be found guilty, it will have to pay some very hefty charges for breaches of counter-terrorism and anti-money laundering laws.

Costs from the transformation of the Queen’s Wharf in Brisbane have played a role too.

Following yesterday’s three-quarter dive, the company is now worth less than the value of its assets; its market cap sits at $545 million to end this week.

There is $100M waiting to be collected from a rescue loan – the Star already nabbed the first $100M from that deal in December – but it’s proved “challenging” to satisfy the conditions to draw, the company has said earlier this month.

“The group continues to explore other liquidity solutions,” it added at the time.

All this points to Mr Mathieson in all likeliness being quite right: Star Entertainment Group may well be bankrupt (or be on the bidding block) by the middle of the year.

Star will open at 13c today after nosediving 33.3% on Thursday.

Update Wednesday, Feb 5, 5:13pm AEDT: Removed a quote per request.

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The power behind KFC’s expansive Australian kingdom has seen consumers in droves now turning down Zinger Boxes and Family Feasts due to cost-of-living issues.

Those cautious consumers led to Collins’ first-half suffering a 52.1% profits dive.

In turn, the KFC and Taco Bell operator trimmed dividends, to 11.5cps.

Anyone whose been paying attention to the fast food titan – owned by Yum! in the U.S. – in recent years wouldn’t be too overly surprised to see FY25’s first-half not go perfectly for its ASX-listed operator; Collins has seen 29% shaved off its valuation year-to-date as it struggles to navigate Australian’s spending less.

In fact, anyone invested in Colllins would have seen a 39% loss through 2022 to 2024, an under-performance well below the market’s average through the same time.

With supermarket prices – as well as just about everything else – rising over the last three years, fast food companies have felt the squeeze. Collins sits among them, though it has managed to keep its EBITDA decline to just 7% in 1H25.

“I’m excited about the potential of our business moving forward,” Xavier Simonet, Collins managing director, adding both KFC and Taco Bell still boast “strong fundamentals.”

No one at Collins seems to be panicking yet either, despite the last three years.

Instead, the restaurant operator has doubled down on KFC expansion with six new stores in Australia. Twenty-two more have been renovated (with seven of those dubbed as “super-charged” makeovers, whatever that means).

The chicken giant is also trying to find space in the new low-spend economy with deals like the $9.95 Packed Lunch – an “accessible” meal it says is already a hit.

In a slightly similar vein, Taco Bell added a new cheaper beverages range.

CKF, which is a near-$1bn company, last traded at $8.45.

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The watchdog has now launched legal action in the Federal Court, with the action revolving around “false” flight prices between November 2018 and November 2023.

Of particular interest in the case will be statements billed on Webjet’s app as well as in marketing emails, social media campaigns, and on its website.

Phrases like “flights from $X” had appeared throughout these communication avenues, the watchdog flagged, but allegedly never included Webjet’s compulsory service and booking fees that sometime cost as much as $54.90 all up.

When fees were mentioned, they were often difficult to find, the ACCC claims.

Other alleged breaches include claims Webjet sent customers emails confirming flights that hadn’t actually been booked – then requesting further payments to lock them in.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb pointed out all this had happened as living costs mounted.

“We remind all businesses, whether they are online retailers or brick and mortar stores, that they need to comply with the Australian Consumer Law by not misleading consumers and displaying prices clearly, including hidden fees and surcharges,” Ms Cass-Gottlieb added upon sharing the ACCC’s planned legal action.

Webjet responded to the lawsuit nearly immediately with a statement on the ASX, where it suggested it had already taken steps to improve pricing and fee disclosures.

“Millions have chosen to book through Webjet Marketing during the period in question and we have very rarely been contacted by customers complaining about our disclosure of fees,” the company wrote on Thursday. “Webjet is confident there is no widespread customer dissatisfaction with our offering, disclosure, service, or pricing.”

This finance journalist actually got an email from Webjet’s marketing arm at 11.32am today billing its $100-cheaper Asia package. In that email, Webjet listed several service and booking fees, but expected “payment fees” were trimmed by the email format.

(This accidental trim in the Gmail view is likely to be just that, of course – accidental.)

Should the ACCC proved its claims in the Federal Court, it will be seeking fines against Webjet as well as compensation for any impacted customers –

This ACCC action will cause some whiplash among Webjet investors, many of whom would have just been celebrating a 14% spike in share prices yesterday.

Webjet – which demerged from Web Travel Group last year – had reported better than expected underlying profits to the tune of $9.2 million.

That success, and a $150M share buyback plan, had sent share prices rocketing.

Today though, Webjet is down 4.14% to 81cps.

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The travel group’s first-half underlying earnings fell 8%, to $70 million, after several challenges like FTI Group’s collapse and less Paris Olympics hype than expected.

Less sporting fans travelled to the 2024 European Championship than anticipated too.

The total dissolution of FTI was a particularly heavy hammer blow: The German-based travel operator was the third-largest across Europe and (though an unrelated entity) had been quite tied to Web Travel’s plans through 2024. After its insolvency was announced at court in Munich, all trips beyond June 4 were scrapped.

Those cancellations, bundled with the Olympics and Euros simply failing to entice as many travellers as predicted, all united into a difficult European storm for Web Travel.

Said Web Travel’s managing director John Guscic, “We underestimated this decline and the extend of the changing market conditions and customers mix… the underlying margins did not recover in August as expected.”

“We also underestimated the incentive payments during August [at the time of the group’s AGM] which were $7.5M higher than planned,” the Web Travel manager added.

The company’s WebBeds sector did record a promising 25% increase in Total Transaction Value though; TTV lifted to $2.6 billion, the company reported today – already a quarter of the way to the group’s bumper $10 billion FY30 targets.

Perhaps the biggest slice of data from Web Travel’s update today that got things moving upwards (and very quickly at that) was the fact its underlying net profit had come in at $52.5 million in the six months through to September 2024; a half-year success tipped higher by how much the group had battled through.

Market interest – which doesn’t look like slowing down through midday trade – was also boosted by news Web Travel is running a $150M share buyback.

On HotCopper forums, some WEB investors were celebrating early today. One praised the “strong cashflows and outstanding balance sheet” while another said they always knew their patience with the group would be rewarded eventually.

At the time of writing, the company was the best ASX 200 performer.

WEB last traded at $4.83 today after its red-hot 14.18% spike.

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In this vein, jewellery retailer Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX:LOV) has seen its shares rise by more than 2% following a trading update which showed a 10% rise in total sales in the first 20 weeks of the 2025 fiscal year, compared to FY24.

This, Lovisa argued, was vindication in its belief that sales growth was continuing over the past year.

The growth story was also echoed in the company’s report on net new store openings, which topped 27 so far for FY25 – that is, 40 openings and 13 closures – meaning Lovisa now has 927 stores within 49 markets.

As part of the latter, the company observed three new franchise markets had opened in the Ivory Coast, Republic of Congo, and Panama in FY25, with Lovisa now trading in 91 more stores and nine more markets than was the case this time last year.

In a day when the consumer discretionary sector was in the green – registering a 0.76% rise on the ASX – this company in particular was able to applaud a strong performance in share price.

By 13:48 AEDT, Lovisa shares were trading at $27.37 – a rise of 2.05% since the market opened.

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The company – which has stores in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Malaysia and Croatia – also saw sales revenues drop to $8.86 billion from $9.19 billion in FY23 Harvey Norman, underlining buyer caution.

Inflationary pressures were also noted in its reading for operating expenses, which were up 1.5% to $25.01 million, with new store openings also mentioned as a factor.

However, chairman Harvey Norman appeared enthused about one sector which is likely to gain focus in the coming months: AI-enabled computer products, around which the company had developed a marketing strategy.

“We are excited about the recent Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) product cycle and are committed to investing in digital initiatives and the necessary technologicalupgrades to our infrastructure,” he said.

“These investments will assist both our franchisees and company-operated stores in promoting Gen-AI-enabled products to mainstream consumers.

“Our omni-channel strategy, bolstered by our strong brand and extensive geographical reach, will empower franchisees and company-operated stores to leverage the emerging AI PC market, which will drive sales growth as additional AI-PC products come onto the market.”

Harvey Norman kept its final dividend payout at 12 cents per share for FY24.

The company’s shares fell on the financial results, and by 11:31 AEST, were trading at $4.66: a drop of 4.81% since the market opened.