JB Hi-Fi H1 Profit Rises 29%

JB HI-Fi profit in the first half ended December 31, rose 19% to A$76 million from the same period a year earlier and sales climbed 23% to A$1.5 billion.

However, chief executive officer Richard Uechtritz announced that he will be resigning in August after 10 years at the helm of the company.

But Uechtritz will rejoin the board as a non-executive director in early 2011 as well as taking up a three-year consultancy with the company.

ASX Movers

Macquarie CountryWide Trust led the decliners in the S&P ASX 200 index with a loss of 6.2% followed by losses in ING Industrial Fund of 5.4%, in JB Hi-Fi Limited of 5.1%, in Goodman Group 5.0% and in CuDeco Limited 4.0%.

Ten Network Holdings Limited led gainers in the S&P ASX 200 index with a rise of 9.5% followed by gains in Avoca Resources Limited 5.0%, in Independence Group NL of 4.5% and in Sundance Resources Limited of 4.1%.

Other Movers

Harvey Norman Holdings Limited climbed 1.9% to A$3.69 after the electrical retailer was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” at UBS AG.

Incitec Pivot Limited rose 0.9% to A$3.29 after the fertilizer maker said Moranbah project to restart in May.

JB Hi-Fi Ltd fell 5.1% to A$19.07 after the retailer reported first-half net profit rose 29% to A$76 million.

Lihir Gold Limited advanced 1.8% to A$2.79.

OZ Minerals Limited rose 1.5% to A$0.99 after the mining company was upgraded to “neutral” from “underperform” at Credit Suisse Group AG.

Newcrest Mining Limited the gold producer added 1.1% to A$31.52.

Ten Network Holdings Limited surged 9.5% to A$1.66.

Wotif.com Holdings Limited the online travel agency dropped 3.5% to A$6.30.