Australia's Harvey Norman Q2 sales up, upbeat on H2

MELBOURNE, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Australian electrical and furniture retailer Harvey Norman Holdings (HVN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) said its second-quarter like-for-like sales rose 6.5 percent and it was cautiously upbeat about the current half. For the first half, sales at its outlets in Australia, New Zealand, Slovenia and Ireland rose 4.0 percent to A$3.27 billion ($2.83 billion), it said on Friday. Total sales in Australia rose 6.8 percent in the quarter but the firm provided no detail on the composition of sales. Retail analysts have said that furniture sales at Harvey Norman were likely boosted by a strong housing market but its larger electricals business probably came under pressure from discounting. "Sales for the month of January 2010 have met managements' expectations and we remain cautiously optimistic about the next five months," Chief Financial Officer Chris Mentis said in a statement. Source:in.reuters.com/