Michael Hill shares hammered, drop 25 per cent as sales fall

Michael Hill exited the US as part of a broad plan to restructure the business. Photo/File.

Shares in Michael Hill have lost nearly a quarter of their value today after the retailer's quarterly sales dropped 8.8 per cent.

The jewellery chain's share price closed for the day down 24.49 per cent at 74c each.

Michael Hill's sales from continuing operations fell to A$112.12 million in the three months ended September 30 from A$122.9 million a year earlier. Same-store sales posted a sharper decline of 11 per cent.

The retailer restructured its business this year, quitting the US and exiting its Emma & Roe sub-brand to focus on high-margin sales and improving its use of other sales channels, such as online. Gross margin improved in the quarter to 64.6 per cent from 63.1 per cent. Chief executive Phil Taylor said that strategy is still the right one, however, the move away from discounting needed more spending on marketing and advertising.

"While the transition is proving more challenging than expected we remain committed to the strategy and have taken many learnings from the first quarter which we are confident will drive performance in the critical December quarter," he said in a statement.

Taylor is stepping down from the top job effective from today for health reasons. He'll stay on for six months to help smooth the transition, with Daniel Bracken stepping up to the role. Bracken was the head of Specialty Fashion Group.

Michael Hill opened three stores and closed three stores in the quarter, leaving it with 306 as at Sept. 30. The retailer has 169 stores in Australia and plans to open another two ahead of Christmas. It has 53 stores in New Zealand and 84 in Canada.

Australian sales dropped 11 per cent to A$65.1 million in the quarter, while New Zealand sales fell 7.4 per cent to NZ$$23.9 million and Canadian sales declined 7.3 per cent to C$24 million.

Four Emma & Roe stores were closed, leaving two left as the retailer winds up the unit. Heavy discounting increased trading activity, with Emma & Roe sales more than doubling to A$2.4 million.