Sales at the 14 Irish outlets of Harvey Norman grew to within touching distance of €150 million last year, as the retailer closes in on its first Irish profit after more than a decade in the market here.

Harvey Norman Trading (Ireland), the parent company of its 12 stores in the republic and two in Northern Ireland, saw revenues rise by 4 per cent to €149.2 million in the year to the end of last June.

Its like-for-like sales grew by more than 8 per cent, as the previous year’s results included close to €6 million in sales from two stores which have since been shuttered, according to its accounts.

Harvey Norman, which sells furniture, homewares and electronics, narrowed its losses last year to €7.4 million, down from about €11 million.

The company has now accumulated losses to date of €106 million, but it is on track to enter profit in the second half of its next financial year, which begins in July. Its listed Australian parent company last week said losses had halved at its Irish unit in the six months between July and December 2014.

The directors said, in a note attached to the accounts, that the company was now in a growth phase and said it was not due to discounting, but improved consumer sentiment.

“The Irish economy is showing signs of stability and growth,” the accounts stated. “The tough austerity measures, which have impacted the retail sector negatively, have improved the fiscal position. Now that these measures are coming to an end we anticipate that consumer sentiment will continue to improve.”