Harvey Norman sees half-yr profits up over 40 pct

SYDNEY - Electrical and furniture retailer Harvey Norman expects its six-month profit to be more than 40 percent higher than a year earlier, the firm said on Monday.

It also said like-for-like sales from franchise stores in Australia rose 5.9 percent in the period between July 1 and Nov. 22, 2009, compared with the same period last year.