Garrison Huang - Harris Technology CEO
Harris Technology (ASX:HT8) is set to fold its Audion business into its IT distribution operation, Anywhere, in a bid to reduce operational costs as it reports a $3 million loss for the year ending June.
The company listed publicly on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in July last year after online retailer, Shoply, acquired a 100 per cent stake in the niche IT distributor, Anyware, which also included Harris Technology.
The company has reported a $2.99 million net loss for the year ending June, in its first preliminary, unaudited annual financial results since listing under the Harris Technology name.
At the same time, the company reported $53.88 million in revenues. The $2.99 million net loss included a $3.1 million impairment loss reported in the company’s half-yearly report.
The company told shareholders that during the quarter ending June it implemented its strategy to “meet and grow” with the challenges presented by changing market conditions.
As a result of Harris Technology’s business strategy review, the company said its board had decided to absorb the Audion business internally, folding it into its Anyware distribution business, in order to further reduce operational costs and streamline functions.
Harris Technology said it would acquire specialist audio and multimedia distributor, Audion, from Ban Leong Technologies Limited (BLA), in November last year.
Audion was an Australian distributor of audio, video and multimedia accessories to conventional channel distributors, dealers and major retail chain stores nationwide.
Harris Technology's Anyware business, meanwhile, imports and distributes computer accessories in Australia.
During the year, Harris Technology also divested Your Home Depot (YHD) which was part of the Shoply group of businesses acquired some 16 months ago. It is hoped the sell-off will allow the company to focus on its core strategy of further developing its manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) model business.
“Continuing the business growth strategy, Harris Technology commenced engagement to establish a joint venture in Hong Kong to facilitate and strengthen the M2C strategy with partners in Shenzhen, China,” the company told shareholders.
“This joint venture will substantially increase Harris Technology’s potential to provide a broad and profitable range of products that will be supplied direct from manufacturers in China, to consumers in Australia, while having a local presence to distribute and deal with,” it said.
Looking forward, the company told investors that its board is confident that its cost reduction strategy will enable it to achieve a positive result for FY18.
“Notwithstanding the highly competitive market we are operating in, we have completed our cost reduction mission satisfactorily and have worked hard on aligning the business to compete aggressively in the future,” Harris Technology CEO, Garrison Huang, said.
“We have now fully integrated the Audion acquisition into the business and recently sold the ‘Your Home Depot’ business.
“Successfully implementing our growth and efficiency strategy, Harris Technology is now well placed to continue to grow our product range, commence our M2C strategy and grow the business further into FY18,” he said.
