‘Vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys has slashed its dividend despite delivering earnings at the top end of its revised forecast after a year that saw two chief executives depart,’ reported The Australian on 26 August 2016.
Godfreys experienced a 35.5 per cent slump in net profit to $7.8 million for the year to June 30, ‘despite a meagre 0.6 per cent dip in revenue to $179.3 million’.
The company’s underlying earnings decreased by 20 per cent to $9.2 million.
The Australian’s business journalist Daniel Palmer reported that ‘the cut to forecasts forced chief executive Tom Krulis out, while his replacement Kathy Cocovski shocked the market by stepping down last month, for personal reasons’.
Godfreys chairman Rod Walker said that “the results were unacceptable given the confidence at the start of the year”, but that “the outlook was more promising following the arrival of new managing director John Hardy”.
“This has been a challenging period for Godfreys, reflected in the financial performance for the year announced today,” he stated.
“John Hardy and his senior team are now restoring Godfreys to an acceptable level of financial performance.
“Fundamentally the Godfreys business is sound. Our financial position remains solid, we have a strong brand and we operate in a market that continues to demonstrate solid growth fundamentals.”
Mr John Hardy said he had embarked on a program of “much needed change” at the group since his arrival in July.
“Since taking over the leadership of Godfreys in July, my initial efforts have been focused on addressing some obvious gaps in our product range,” he shared.
“I also see opportunities to better support our sales team with enhanced training and a realigned marketing strategy. The very preliminary results from this strategy have been encouraging.”