• Electronic consumer goods company Harris Technology Group (HT8) has raised roughly $3.5 million through a private placement to fund the growing demand for its products and repay some debt
• During the peak of COVID-19, Harris jumped onto the hygiene and sanitiser bandwagon and launched its ‘Pro-Hygiene’ range
• In keeping up with public demand, Harris also expanded its electronic goods inventory to support those learning and working from home
• This led to an unaudited revenue increase from $4.1 million in the first half of FY20 to $9.9 million in the second half of FY20
• In addition to the placement, Harris Technology will undertake a share purchase plan to raise roughly $1.4 million
• After coming out of a trading halt this morning, company shares have climbed 21.7 per cent to trade for 14 cents

Harris Technology Group (HT8) has raised $3.512 million through a private placement to fund the growing demand for its products.

A total of 43.9 million shares were issued at eight cents each. These shares will rank equally with the company’s existing shares.

The new shares are expected to settle on Friday, August 14 and will trade normally on the following Monday.

Harris Technology is an electronic consumer goods company who, during the peak of COVID-19, jumped onto the hygiene and sanitiser bandwagon. This did not go unnoticed as Harris sold an initial 30,000 face masks in March alone.

The company launched its Pro-Hygiene range last quarter, which comprises face masks, hand sanitisers and alcohol wipes. However, this has now been extended to include a foot-operated hand sanitiser dispenser and a non-touch infrared thermometer.

While there was an increased focus on hygiene products to support the public during the pandemic, Harris didn’t forget its electronics business.

As COVID-19 led to more people working and learning from home, Harris responded by increasing its inventory from $766,000 to $1.44 million to meet the surging demand. This means there were more IT hardware products and accessories available for purchase.

As a result of its Pro-Hygiene and electronics division performance, Harris achieved an unaudited revenue of $9.9 million for the first half of the year. This marks an approximate 141 per cent increase from the $4.1 million unaudited revenue achieved in the second half of 2019.

“This all culminates in the big financial turn-around in FY20 as we delivered an annual net profit before tax in excess of approximately $1.05 million (unaudited), compared to the previous year’s result of a $732,000 loss (audited),” CEO and Managing Director Garrison Huang said.

In July, Harris was labelled the top-ranked marketplace seller on Amazon Australia by Marketplace Pulse, an independent U.S.-based market research firm.

“We are continuously working closely with platforms such as Amazon, Kogan, Catch and eBay to compliment the product offerings by leveraging HT’s expertise and knowledge in IT/CE products,” Garrison added.

In addition to the placement, Harris Technology will undertake a non-underwritten share purchase plan to raise roughly $1.4 million.

Eligible shareholders will be entitled to subscribe for between $5000 and $30,000 worth of shares.

The funds will be used to increase product inventory to meet the growing demand as well as repay existing debts. The company has the right to scale-back applications if it chooses.

The share purchase plan will be open from Wednesday, August 19 until Friday, September 4.

After coming out of a trading halt this morning, company shares have climbed 21.7 per cent to trade for 14 cents at 1:01 pm AEST.