5 Oct 2012

Jeweller's shares rise

12:40 pm on 5 October 2012

Shares in Michael Hill International rose 9 cents to $1. 22 on Friday after the company announced it lifted sales across its domestic and international markets in the first quarter.

Revenue rose 14.3% to $116.4 million in the three months to September, compared with the same period last year.

Sales in stores open for more than a year rose 8.5% to $108.6 million.

Michael Hill's largest market, Australia, performed well, lifting its performance by 8.3% to $72.9 million, after a slow down during the 2012 financial year.

The company says US, Canadian and New Zealand markets all traded well during the September quarter and the growth was achieved without the company reducing margins.

Directors say they are satisfied with the performance over the period but the December quarter will largely determine the group's result for the year.