JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX:JBH), an Australian electronics and home entertainment retailer, said first-quarter sales rose 12.2 percent from a year earlier but were about 5 percent behind its target. In August, the company predicted fiscal 2011 sales would grow by 17 percent to around A$3.2 billion.

Chief executive Terry Smart said the retailer had experienced a steady rise in sales since June 2010 and now has positive comparable growth year to date for FY11.

The firm said on at the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday that it expected to make up the sales shortfall in the second half of the year as the overall strength of the economy underpinned the Christmas trading period.

"We are expecting to see discounting to continue through Christmas 2010, however JB is well-positioned to maintain margins, given its increasing scale, broad product assortment and everyday low prices strategy," Mr Smart said.

JB Hi-Fi is Australia's largest reseller of Apple products, and is well-placed to capitalise on the new iPods to be released in the lead up to the holidays.

Macquarie Equities is upbeat about JB Hi-Fi, with a share price target of $A25.63.

JB Hi-Fi's share price was down 38 cents, or 1.88 per cent, to $19.87 by 1150 AEDT.