Jewellery company Michael Hill International has reported flat revenue but a net profit of $2.1 million after last year’s loss.
And it has started the current financial year with sales up in Australia and Canada, but down in New Zealand.
The company in the year to June 29 had group revenue of $643.7m, down $1.2m on the previous year.
Group gross margin was 60.5%, compared to 60.6% a year before.
The company said inventory levels were managed to absorb record gold prices, closing at $199.1m, compared to $195.8m in the prior year.
As with the 2024 financial year, no final dividend was declared.
“Canada delivered another record year of sales performance with +4.4% growth, Australia was up +1.2%, while New Zealand was down -5.5%,” the company added.
Digital sales grew 6% to deliver more than $50m for the first time.
The group finished the year with 287 stores, compared with 300 a year earlier.
The company said it established a new Auckland distribution centre to improve customer service levels and operational efficiencies.
Its net profit included the impact from two non-cash items.
Those were a $7.4m impairment expense on the Bevilles brand, which was partially offset by a $3m favourable litigation outcome.
The company also delivered a trading update for the current financial year.
It said for the first seven weeks of FY2026, group same-store sales were up 3.2% on the prior year.
The Australian segment was up 3.4%, the Canadian segment up 6.8% and the New Zealand segment down 3.2%.
Company chairman Rob Fyfe said the company experienced challenging trading conditions, and volatile gold and diamond prices.
He also cited the threat of US tariffs and the death of chief executive Daniel Bracken in February.
Bracken, 57, died from what was described as “an adverse reaction to medical treatment for an underlying medical condition”.
In addition, company founder Sir Michael Hill died on July 29 aged 86.
Fyfe paid tribute to Hill and Bracken, and said Hill’s vision and ambition would motivate the company for many years to come.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the resilience, dedication and commitment shown by every team member within the Michael Hill Group,” Fyfe added.
And he said the business has made hard decisions to ensure it was positioned to benefit from any improvement in economic and trading conditions.
Jarden analysts Guy Hooper and Nick Yeo said the result showed a positive shift in momentum for the second part of the last financial year.
Hooper and Yeo today said that shift came “slowly from a low base with consumer activity yet to show a meaningful turn”.
“New Zealand continues to be a sales drag, albeit improving,” they added.
The Jarden analysts said the group’s operating base tightened ahead of a consumer recovery and importantly, the jeweller seemed to have made headway on its cost-out initiatives.
“The company continues to rationalise its store count, particularly in Canada and Australia, closing 14 Michael Hill stores in the period and converting two stores to Bevilles.”
All the stores closed had been losing money, Jarden added.
Michael Hill bought Australian chain Bevilles in a $45m deal back in 2023.
Stats NZ data released today showed retail sales in New Zealand increased 0.5% in the June 2025 quarter compared with the March quarter.