A muted response to JB Hi-Fi's record FY22 earnings

Slowing economic growth concerns will have to wait after JB Hi-Fi (ASX: JBH) posted record sales and earnings for FY22. The company's stock is up 3.5% in early trade.

Group revenue rose 3.5% year-on-year to $9.2bn, supported by a strong uptick in online sales, which grew an outsized 52.8% to $1.6bn. Online sales now represent 17.6% of total sales, up from 13.1% a year ago.

Margins appear to remain intact, as net profits increased 7.7% to $545m. JB Hi-Fi said earnings were skewed towards the second-half, where earnings jumped 33.4% thanks to “elevated sales growth and improvement in gross margins.”

“The benefits of having a strong multichannel strategy were especially evident in the second half as Covid-19 restrictions eased and customers returned to shopping in-store, whilst continuing to shop with us online,” commented CEO Terry Smart. 

Resilient Aussie consumers

Australian retail sales hit another record level in May, up for a fifth consecutive month.

Retail sales rose 0.9% month-on-month in May, following rises of 0.9 per cent in April, 1.6 per cent in March, 1.8 per cent in February and 1.6 per cent in January.

Australian retail sales have been rather resilient compared to other countries such as the US and UK, where figures have experienced large month-on-month fluctuations, and at some times, going negative. 

Expectations running low

Like most retail shares, JB Hi-Fi topped out around late March.

The stock tanked around -34% and at June 17 lows, was more than -10% below pre-covid levels.

The market appears to remain cautious, even in light of a record result, with JB Hi-Fi shares trading well-below session highs of 5.4%. The rather reserved response is perhaps due to the lack of commentary surrounding current trading conditions and outlook.

The company will release its full year audited results on 15 August.

JB Hi-Fi price chart (Source: TradingView)