Michael Hill lifts full-year revenue 3.3%

Michael Hill lifts full-year revenue 3.3% as it shifts focus back to core namesake brand

By Tina Morrison

July 10 (BusinessDesk) - Michael Hill International increased revenue 3.3 percent in its 2018 fiscal year as it opened more namesake brand stores in Australia and Canada, exited its US operations and began the closure of its Emma & Roe chain.

The Brisbane-based company lifted sales to A$599.7 million in the 12 months ended June 30, from A$580.3 million in the year earlier period, it said in a statement. Excluding the impact of store changes, sales lifted 0.4 percent.

Michael Hill, the jewellery manufacturer and retailer named after its founder, has expanded from a single store in Whangarei in 1979 and is now chaired by Hill's daughter Emma. It opened 17 new Michael Hill stores during the year, including seven in Australia, eight in Canada, and two in New Zealand. It closed five underperforming stores, including two in both Australia and New Zealand, and one in Canada.

The company ended the year with 312 stores, having completed the exit from all of its nine stores in the US and closed 24 of its Emma & Roe stores, with the remaining six stores earmarked for closure in the coming months as it moves its focus to its core namesake brand.

Sales at its Michael Hill stores in Australia, the company's largest market with 171 stores, rose 1.1 percent to A$325.5 million. In New Zealand, where it has 52 stores, Michael Hill sales gained 2.5 percent to NZ$125.1 million, while in Canada where it has 83 stores sales rose 15.5 percent to C$128.2 million.

The company said e-commerce sales across the group increased 62 percent to A$11.1 million, representing 1.9 percent of total sales.

Michael Hill shares last traded at $1.06 on the NZX, having shed 13 percent over the past year.

(BusinessDesk)

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