• Macroeconomic pressures impacted consumer sentiment, but Australia and Canada delivered growth
• Gross margin starting to recover despite challenging raw material costs
• Strong digital traffic and omni-channel sales
• Significant progress on Michael Hill brand and product initiatives

Michael Hill International Ltd has released its FY25H1 results presentation, highlighting a mixed performance amid ongoing macroeconomic pressures. While the company's two largest segments, Australia and Canada, delivered growth, the New Zealand segment continued to face challenging retail conditions. Gross margin is starting to recover, underpinned by brand and product initiatives, despite ongoing high raw material costs. The company has made significant progress on its Michael Hill brand and product initiatives, including opening a second global flagship store, refurbishing a key store in New Zealand, and successfully launching the Pendant Bar concept. Digital traffic and omni-channel sales have remained strong, supporting the overall performance. The company has also actively managed its inventory, delivering a $6.6 million reduction. However, the challenging trading environment has compressed comparable EBIT, with higher annualised operating costs.

For the first seven weeks of FY25H2, the Group reported same-store sales up 3.2%, with the Australian segment up 3.8%, the Canadian segment up 6.7%, and the New Zealand segment down 1.9%. Total sales for the Group were up 1.7% for the first seven weeks of FY25H2.