Tuesday 9, November, 2004 - Independent Directors Notice

In terms of Listing rule 3.3.1A (a), Michael Hill International confirms that the following Directors have been determined by the Company to be Independent Directors.

Murray Richard Doyle.
Gary John Gwynne.

The Company's Annual meeting was held on Friday 5th November 2004. Both the above named directors were re-elected at that meeting.

W.K.Butler
Company Secretary 9/11/04

Friday 5, November, 2004 - Annual Meeting Resolutions

At the Annual meeting of the Company held on the 5th November 2004, the following resolutions were passed by the meeting on a show of hands.

1. "That Richard Michael Hill be re-elected as a Director of the Company "
2. "That Murray Richard Doyle be re-elected as a Director of the Company"
3. "That Gary John Gwynne be re-elected as a Director of the Company"
4. "That the Directors be authorised to fix the remuneration of the auditors for the ensuing year"
5. "That the existing Constitution of the Company be revoked and the Company adopt a new Constitution in the form tabled at the meeting and signed by the Chairman for the purpose of identification "
6. "That the maximum amount of annual directors' fees payable to all directors in their capacity as directors shall be $250,000, until such time as this amount may be altered by a further ordinary resolution of shareholders"
   

W.K.Butler
Company Secretary 9/11/04

Monday 11, October, 2004 - 3 Month's Sales Announcement

Note that these figures represent 2 months actual and September preliminary figures excluding accounting adjustments.

	Last Year	This Year	% Var
NZ same stores	15,107,710	15,474,224	2.40%
Australia same stores	28,852,241	30,157,059	4.50%
Canada same stores	1,055,223	1,103,592	4.60%
Total same stores	$45,015,174	$46,734,875	3.80%
NZ all stores	15,107,710	15,474,224	2.40%
Australia all stores	29,256,672	33,102,052	13.10%
Canada all stores	1,055,223	1,204,519	14.10%
Total all stores	$45,419,604	$49,780,795	9.60%

The above figures are all in NZ Dollars.

Exchange rate used for conversion to NZ dollars:

Australia	0.88	0.92
Canada	0.84	0.86

Comments

In the first quarter, 4 new stores were opened in Australia and 2 new stores opened in Canada.

Same store sales in Australia were up 9.3% in Australian dollars - the first quarter exchange rate last year being .88 versus .92 this year.

In line with some other companies, Michael Hill International will in future incorporate two of its quarterly sales reports into its interim and preliminary results announcements to make its business more transparent to investors.
For the past year, the Company has released quarterly sales reports separately from profit results but it was now considered in the best interests of shareholders to incorporate second and fourth quarter sales figures with earnings results.
As the second quarter sales contain the all important Christmas trading period, an announcement on sales alone without reference to profitability could result in misinterpretation by the market. The Board considered that it was sensible to combine the sales and earnings release in order that the market understood how sales translated into earnings.

Michael Hill International will continue to separately report its first and third quarter sales to the market.

R.M. Hill 11/10/04
Chairman

Click Here to download the 30/06/04 Full Year Report Power Point Presentation

Friday 20, August, 2004 - Chairman's Statement

1. Profit Announcement

Michael Hill International has today announced a record tax paid profit of $15,060,000 for the 12 months ended 30 June 2004, 30% up on the previous year. Taking into account that last years profit of $11,570,000 included a one-off after tax profit of $1,326,000 on the sale of the Australian Head Office building, the operational tax paid profit has improved 47% over last year.

Group sales increased by 15.6% to $259,777,000 (2003-$224,802,000).

The results for the year represent an excellent 28% return on average shareholder’s funds (2003-22%), a return on average total assets of 13% (2003-11.2%) and the Board is very pleased with the overall result.

New Zealand Operations
The New Zealand Company had a solid performance despite no new stores being opened during the year. Revenue increased by 3.5% to $86,711,000, with earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) up 3.4% from $10.644 million to $11.009 million. EBIT as a percentage of revenue was steady at 12.7%. Included in the NZ costs are provisions of $705,000 before tax relating to the downsizing of the Whangarei support office from 30 September 2004, which has previously been announced.

Same store sales increased by 1.2% for the 12 months (last year 1%).

Total stores operating in New Zealand at 30 June 2004 were 46.

Australian Operations
The Australian Company improved its revenue by 20.5% for the 12-month period (in NZ dollars) with EBIT up 30.5% from NZ$13.918 million to NZ$18.160 million.

In Australian dollars, total sales were up 19.2% to A$147.141 million and EBIT up 29.0% to A$15.980 million. Same store sales improved by 9.8% for the 12 months in Australian dollars.

The exchange rate used for the translation of the Australian surplus was .88 (2003 - .89).

During the course of the year, a further nine stores were opened at the following locations:

In total there were 93 stores operating in Australia as at 30 June 2004.

Canadian Operations
The Canadian operation operated with 4 stores open for the whole of the year.
The stores are in the Seven Oaks Mall, Lougheed Mall, Metrotown in Vancouver and at the Mayfair shopping centre on Vancouver Island. Two of the stores were opened at the beginning of November 2002 and one at the beginning of December 2002. Metrotown was opened at the end of April 2003.

Revenue for the 4 stores improved 154% from NZ$2,308,000 to NZ$5,860,000.
The EBIT loss for the Canadian operation improved from NZ$1,802,000 to NZ$1,366,000. The exchange rate used for the translation of the Canadian results was .84 (2003 .80)

The Board is very pleased with the progress being made in Canada and it is the intention to open up to 4 more stores in the Vancouver area in the current financial year.

2. Final Dividend

The Directors are pleased to announce a final dividend of 13 cents per share (2003 - 10cents), with full imputation credits attached for New Zealand shareholders and full franking credits for Australian shareholders. The dividend will be paid on Monday, 18th October 2004 with the record date being 8th October.

Including the payment of an 8 cent per share interim dividend on 29 March 2004, the total dividend for the year will be 21 cents (last year 17 cents).

3. Cash Flows / Balance Sheet

The Group has reported net operating cash flows of $24,779,000 which are 265% up on the previous year of $6,789,000.

The Group has a healthy balance sheet at 30th June with an equity ratio of 46.9% (2003 – 45.8%) and a working capital ratio of 4.3:1 (2003 – 5.4:1). Net debt has reduced from $40,177,000 to $27,737,000.

4. Summary

It has been an excellent year for the group, and this augurs well for the future. Emphasis has been on improving the performance of the existing stores and the results speak for themselves. The Australian company in particular has had an outstanding year with the New Zealand company also performing well given the restructuring of this operation. The future of the Canadian operation now looks very encouraging and the Board intends to push ahead with growth in store numbers in the next 12 months.

In the coming financial year, our plan is to open approximately fifteen new stores spread over the 3 countries, depending on availability of sites.. Our overall strategic goal of creating shareholder wealth through our philosophy of controlled profitable growth will continue to underlie all our plans.

The Directors remain confident in the continued growth and profitability of the Group. On behalf of the Directors,

M. Hill 20/08/2004 Chairman

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 20 August 2004 (41KB PDF File)
Notice issued to NZX re Listing Rule 10.40.2.

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 20th August 2004 (7KB PDF File)
Notice issued to NZX re Segment Result as at 30 June 2004

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 5th August 2004 (13KB PDF File)
Notice issued to NZX re Listing Rule 3.3.2.

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 13 July 2004 (88KB PDF File)
Notice issued to NZX re Michael Hill International unaudited sales figures to 30th June 2004.

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 31 March 2004 (8KB PDF File)
Unaudited sales figures for the 9 months ending 31 March 2004

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 29 March 2004 (16KB PDF File)
Notice issued to NZX re issue of shares under Employee Share Scheme

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 16 February 2004 (59KB PDF File)
Announcement to the NZX re Issue of 100,000 shares - Feb 16.

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 10 February 2004 (22KB PDF File)
Announcement to the NZX re half year dividend

Click Here to download the 31/12/03 Preliminary Half Year Report Announcement (112KB PDF File)

1. Profit Announcement
   
   Michael Hill International has today announced a record tax paid profit of $10,912,000 for the 6 months ended 31 December 2003, an increase of 26.5% over the previous corresponding period. The 2002 result also included the profit on the sale of the Australian Head Office building amounting to $1,103,000, so effectively the operational tax paid profit for the 6 months ending 31 December 2003, (excluding unusual items) has increased by 45% over the previous year.

   The trading profit was achieved on total revenue of $140,582,000 (2002 - $122,000,000).

   The main contributing factors to the increased performance of the group have been;

   a) a 65.6% increase in the EBIT contribution made by the Australian company - $13,043,000 versus $7,876,000 in 2002.

   b) a 15.6% increase in the EBIT contribution made by the New Zealand company - $7,528,000 versus $6,510,000 in 2002.
   
   
   New Zealand Operations
   The New Zealand Company increased its revenue by 2.2% for the six months with earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) up 15.6% to $7,528,000. EBIT as a percentage of revenue improved from 14.3% to 16.2%.

   Same store sales decreased by 0.9% for the 6 months (last year 4.3% increase).

   There were no new stores opened during the period.

   Total stores operating in New Zealand at 31 December 2003 were 46.

    

   Australian Operations
   The Australian Company improved its revenue by 18.2% for the 6 month period (in NZ dollars) with EBIT up 65.6% to $13,043,000.
   
   In Australian dollars, revenue improved 20.4% in total with same store sales up 10.1%
   EBIT as a percentage of revenue improved from 10.4% to 14.5% reflecting the increased sales and operational efficiencies achieved.

   Seven new stores were opened in Australia during the period, as follows:

   Karrinyup in Perth
   Warwick Grove in Perth
   Whitford City in Perth
   Broadmeadows in Melbourne
   Cat and Fiddle Arcade in Tasmania
   Lismore in New South Wales
   North Lakes in Brisbane

   In total there were 91 stores operating in Australia as at 31 December 2003.

   The exchange rate used for the translation of the Australian surplus was 0.88. (2002 –0.87).

   Canadian Operations
   The Canadian operation improved its revenue from NZ$694,000 to NZ$3,316,000. The sales figures for this period represent 6 months of sales for the 4 stores that are operating, compared to 2 months of sales for the 4 stores last year. The EBIT loss of NZ$656,681 was less than budgeted and the Directors are very pleased with the encouraging progress that has been made with the Canadian venture over the past 12 months. The exchange rate used for the translation of the Canadian loss was 0.81 (2002 – 0.78).

2. Interim Dividend
   

   The Directors are pleased to announce an interim dividend of 8 ¢ per share (2003-7¢), with full imputation credits attached for New Zealand shareholders and full franking credits for Australian shareholders. The dividend will be paid on Monday, 29th March 2004 with the record date being Friday 19 March 2004.
   

3. Cash Flows / Balance Sheets

   The Group has reported net operating cash flows of $18,908,000 for the 6 months, up 229% on the 2002 figure of $5,740,000.

   The Group’s balance sheet is very sound with an equity ratio of 45.2% (2002 – 43.9%) as at 31 December 2003 (the interim dividend has not been provided for at 31/12/03 in accordance with FRS-5) and a working capital ratio of 3.9:1 (2002 – 3.3:1).

4. Summary
   The Directors are very pleased with the results for the six months and the direction in which the Company is headed. The Group’s philosophy of controlled profitable growth will continue and further new stores are being evaluated for all three countries as opportunities arise.

The Directors remain confident in the continued growth and profitability of the group..

R.M. Hill 10/02/2004 Chairman

Click Here to download the Notice to the NZX dated 26 November 2003 (5KB PDF File)
Announcement to the NZX re Purchase of Treasury stock for Staff share purchase
scheme

Click Here to download the 30/06/03 Full Year Report Announcement (72KB PDF File)

Click Here to download the 30/06/02 Preliminary Full Year Report Power Point Presentation

Thursday, 14 August, 2003 - Chairman's Statement

Profit Announcement

Michael Hill International has today announced a tax paid profit of $11,570,000 million for the 12 months ended 30 June 2003. This includes an after tax accounting profit on the sale of the Australian Head Office building of $1,326,000.

The operating profit of $10,244,000 was down 16.7% on the operating profit for the 2001/02 year of $12,298,000.

Group sales increased by 5% to $224,802,000 (2002-$214,105,000), despite a challenging retail environment.

The results for the year represent an excellent 22% return on average shareholder’s funds.

New Zealand Operations
The New Zealand Company continued to build its performance on an extremely goodyear in 2001/02. Revenue increased by 3.9% to $83,784,000, with earnings before interest andtax (EBIT) up 5% from $10.134 m illion to $10.644 million. EBIT as a percentage of revenue improved from 12.6% to 12.7%.

Same store sales increased by 1% for the 12 months (last year 13%).

During the course of the year, the New Zealand Company opened three new stores, one at the Palms shopping centre at Christchurch in November 2002, another at Papakura in South Auckland in December 2002, and a third at Blenheim in the South Island in April 2003.

Total stores operating in New Zealand at 30 June 2003 were 46.

Australian Operations
The Australian Company improved its revenue by 3.9% for the 12-month period (in NZ dollars) with EBIT down 3.9% from $12.879 m illion to NZ$12.377 million.

In Australian dollars, total sales were up 12.8% to A$123.452 m illion and EBIT up 4.2% to A$11.013 million. Same store sales improved by 5.7% for the 12 months in Australian dollars.

The exchange rate used for the translation of the Australian surplus was .89 (2002 - .82).

During the course of the year, a further eight stores were opened at the following locations:

Hurstville in Sydney	- July 2002
Maitland in NSW	- August 2002
East Gardens in Sydney	- October 2002
Werribee Shoppingtown in Melbourne	- November 2002
Rockingham in Perth	- February 2003
Knox City in Melbourne	- March 2003
Victoria Gardens in Melbourne	- April 2003
Northgate in Hobart	- May 2003

In total there were 84 stores operating in Australia as at 30 June 2003.

Higher costs were encountered in the Australian operation, including additional wage costs associated with the introduction of 7-day trading in Queensland. The bonus system for sales professionals was also restructured leading to higher bonus payments, which in turn should result in higher productivity and retention levels for the Company in the future.

A higher number of trainee managers were also put through the management system to cater for the company’s growth in Western Australia and Victoria. These costs impacted on the Australian result this year.

Canadian Operations
The Canadian operation commenced during the year with four stores opened by 30 th June 2003.

The stores are in the Seven Oaks mall, the Lougheed mall and the Metrotown mall in Vancouver and at the Mayfair shopping centre on Vancouver Island. Two of the stores were opened at the beginning of November and one at the beginning of December. Metrotown was opened at the end of April 2003.

With the costs of setting up a support centre in Vancouver and with only a part year of trade for the four stores, the Canadian operation made a loss of NZ$1.802 million (EBIT).

Achieving the revenue levels we require from a typical MHJ store has proved challenging during the first months of trading due to the lack of brand recognition in the Canadian market.

Group Infrastructure Costs

Over the past two years, the Group has incurred additional costs in establishing the infrastructure to support further expansion in Australia and to support our trial in Canada. The infrastructure costs have been incurred in the areas of Supply Chain Management, Information Technology, and Human Resources. This was the first full year of these costs which were initiated in 2001/02 and which are necessary for our next phase of growth.

2,     Final Dividend

The Directors are pleased to announce a final dividend of 10 cents per share (2002-10cents), with full imputation credits attached for New Zealand shareholders. The dividend will be paid on Monday, 20th October 2003. The Board is currently investigating attachingfrankingcredits to the dividends for Australian shareholders and a further announcement will be made in due course. Including the payment of a 7 cent per share interim dividend on 31 March, the total normal dividend for the year will be 17 cents (last year 17 cents). In addition, the Company paid a special dividend of 20 cents per share in October 2002, following the sale of the Australian Head Office building.

3.    Cash Flows / Balance Sheets

The Group has reported net operating cash flows of $6,789,000 which are down on the previous year of $8,871,000.

The Group has a healthy balance sheet at 30th June with an equity ratio of 45.8% (2002 – 55%) after payment of the special dividend and a working capital ratio of 5.4:1 (2002 – 5.6:1).

4.     Summary

It has been very much a development year for the Company and one of considerable change and reorganising for the future. The following factors have impacted on our year’s results compared to last year.

1. The movement in the cross rate between Australia and NZ.(Last year .82 versus this year .89). The total impact on our group results has been NZ $668,000.
2. One off restructuring costs of NZ$510,000.
3. Additional Head office rental costs of A$310,000 as a result of the decision to sell off the Australian Head Office building and pay a special dividend to shareholders.
4. Additional interest costs of some NZ$350,000 as a result of the payment of the special dividend to shareholders.
5. The investment in the Canadian operation for the long term future of the Group .

The drop in operating profit needs to be seen in the light of the above factors which have all resulted from strategic decisions by the Board to increase shareholder value over time.

In the coming financial year, our goal is to open a further ten stores in New Zealand and Australia. Further growth in Canada will depend on the existing four stores performingto our satisfaction in the next six months.

The Directors remain confident in the continued growth and profitability of the Group.

On behalf of the Directors

M. Hill 14/08/2003 Chairman

Click Here to download the 31/12/02 Preliminary Half Year Report Announcement (103KB PDF File)

Wednesday, 26 February, 2003 - Chairman's Statement

Profit Announcement

Michael Hill International has today announced a tax paid profit of $8.628 million for the 6 months ended 31 December 2002. This includes an after tax profit on the sale of the Australian Head Office building of $1,103,000.

The operating profit of $7,525,000 was down 10% on the operating profit for the 2001/02 year of $8,304,000.

The trading profit was achieved on turnover of $121,754,000 (2001-$115,680,000).

The main factors contributing to the fall in operating profit have been:

a) The strengthening of the NZ dollar from .81 last year to .87 (6 month average rate), which accounted for NZ$494,000 of the fall when translating the Australian Company results into NZ dollars.

b) Start up costs for the Canadian operation which have contributed an after tax loss of $496,000 for the six months. There were some delays in the opening of the third store, which contributed to the loss.

Other contributing factors have been:

a) Lower than expected sales revenue in New Zealand in November amounting to around $1million; and

b) Higher infrastructure costs as the Group expands internationally, including the appointment of a Group Human Resources Manager and Group Merchandising and Supply Manager.

c) Higher operating costs in Australia in a number of areas.

New Zealand Operations
The New Zealand Company improved its revenue by 6.6% for the six months with earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) down 0.5% to $6,510,000. This followed a 22.5% increase in EBIT the previous year. EBIT as a percentage of revenue dropped from 15.4% to 14.3%.

Same store sales for the six months increased by 4.3%.

Two new stores were opened during the period under review. The Palms at Christchurch was opened in November 2002 and Papakura was opened in December 2002.

The New Zealand Company had 45 stores operating at 31 December 2002.

Australian Operations
The Australian Company improved its revenue by 3.5% for the six month period (in NZ dollars) with EBIT up 2.8% to NZ$7.876 million. In Australian dollars, revenue improved 11.1% in total with same store sales up 5.7%. In Australian dollars EBIT improved 10.3% to A$6,852 million. Higher wage costs were encountered in the Australian operation including additional wage costs associated with the introduction of 7 day trading in Queensland. The bonus system for sales professionals was also restructured leading to higher bonus payments, which in turn should result in higher productivity and lower staff turnover for the Company in the future. In the first six months a higher number of trainee managers were also put through the management system to cater for the company's growth plans.

Four new stores were opened during the period, as follows:

Maitland in NSW
Hurstville in Sydney
East Gardens in Sydney
Werribee Shoppingtown in Melbourne

In total there were 81 stores operating in Australia as at 31 December 2002.

Canadian Operations
The Canadians operation commenced during the period with two stores opening for trade at the beginning of November and one at the beginning of December.

The stores are at Seven Oaks and Lougheed in Vancouver and at the Mayfair shopping centre on Vancouver Island. With the costs of setting up a support centre in Vancouver and with only 5 months of combined trading for the three stores, the Canadian operation contributed a loss of NZ$808,000 before taxation.

It is still very much early days in the life of the Canadian operation and it is expected that it will be a full 12 months before we get a complete understanding of the Canadian jewellery scene. The initial results look encouraging and sales should grow as recognition of the Michael Hill brand continues to build over the next 12 months.

A fourth store is due to open in April at Metro Town in Vancouver.

2. Interim Dividend

The Directors are pleased to announce an interim dividend of 7¢ per share (2001-7¢), with full imputation credits attached. The dividend will be paid on Monday, 31 March 2002.

3. Cash Flows / Balance Sheets

The Group has reported net operating cash flows of $5.74 million for the half year (2001-$13.073m).

The Group's balance sheet has an equity ratio of 43.9% as at 31 December 2002 (the interim dividend has not been provided for at 31/12/02 in accordance with FRS-5) and a working capital ratio of 3.3:1 (2001-2.8:1). This company paid out a special dividend of NZ$7.710 million in October 2002.