Comparable sales at Harvey Norman’s company and franchise stores grew 30.3 per cent between 1 July and 17 September, pushing profits up sharply.

Between the dates of 1 July and 31 August unaudited profit leapt 185.8 per cent to $178.1 million, compared to the $62.3 million for the same period of 2019.

The result brings together Harvey Norman-owned stores in New Zealand, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland and Northern Island, majority-owned stores in Singapore and Malaysia, and independently owned Harvey Norman, Domayne and Joyce Maybe stores in Australia.

Australian franchisees saw comparable sales grow ahead of the curve compared to international stores, up 34.5 per cent compared to the same period of 2019 – only stores in Ireland performed better, with comparable sales up 55 per cent.

However, sales in Melbourne and Auckland have not been taken into account, as stores in the cities have, not surprisingly, been impacted by the city-wide shutdowns.

“The sales turnover of our affected franchisees in [these cities] have been adversely affected by these mandated closures,” the business said.

“Eighteen … franchised complexes in greater Melbourne, Victoria were closed to the public from 6 August 2020 to date as a direct result of the Stage 4 restrictions.”

The Level 3 restrictions in Auckland, which shut down portions of the retail industry, saw 11 Harvey Norman sites closed for 19 days in August.