Shares in Michael Hill International have risen as much as 7 percent after the company's first-half net profit jumped by nearly half, despite falling sales in its largest market, Australia.
The firm's stock hit $1.23 a share in Friday morning trading, from $1.15 on Thursday.
Its net profit rose to $A23.7 million for the six months to the end of December, an increase of 46 percent, compared with the same period a year earlier.
Sales rose 4.6 percent, but those in Australia, which account for nearly two-thirds of the total, fell nearly 2 percent.
The company said the Australian market is challenging due to lower consumer confidence, particularly in mining areas, but a focus on cutting costs helped lift operating earnings by 8.6 percent.
New Zealand, Michael Hill's second largest market, proved a much stronger performer, with sales up 4 percent and profit margins rising 2 percentage points to more than 22 percent, the highest the firm achieved in the four regions in which it operates.
Australian margins rose a similar amount to 18.7 percent of sales.
