Michael Hill has released its full year results for FY21, revealing that its transformation strategy is on track.
The jeweller reported net profit after tax (NPAT) increased to $45.3 million compared to $3.1 million in FY20.
Meanwhile, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) lifted to $72.4 million during the period.
Michael Hill's group same store sales were up 8.6% for the year, despite losing 10,447 trading days due to store closures across Australia and Canada.
Michael Hill CEO Daniel Bracken celebrated the results and said he was thrilled with the Group's performance.
"I am particularly proud of our results, underpinned by strategy execution and the resilience of our team.
"The transformation agenda touches every single part of our business, working together to deliver common goals – the results speak for themselves, and I couldn’t be happier.
"Setting aside the global store network closure in 2020, the Company has now delivered eight consecutive quarters of positive same store sales growth together with sustained margin expansion," he said.
With stores closed, the retailer's digital sales increased by 53.4% to a record $34.8 million, accounting for 6.3% of total sales, up from 5.0% last year.
Additionally, its loyalty program membership lifted in FY21, now boasting 800,000 members, up from 200,000 in FY20.
Investment into Michael Hill branded collections also delivered strong results for the business, with Michael Hill branded collections accounting for 42.1% of total sales for the full year (FY20: 37.3%).
"Throughout the year, we successfully navigated the complexity of the global pandemic, with half our Canadian stores closed for many months, and sporadic temporary closures across our global network," Bracken added.
"While it was an incredibly challenging year, the strength of our brand and the determination of our team delivered record results and further validates the transformation is on track," he said.
Other key results from the announcement include an improvement to group operating revenues, which increased 13.1% to $556.5 million compared to $492.1 million in FY20.
Additionally, group gross margin increased by 210bps to 62.7% (FY20: 60.6%), while the retailer's inventory levels were at $171.2 million, compared to $178.7 million in FY20.
Michael Hill closed out FY21 with 285 stores, after closing six under-performing stores and opening one new store.
The business reports its has a strong balance sheet with a net cash position of $72.4 million (FY20: $0.5m).
Michael Hill's final dividend was AU 3.0 cents per share, resulting in total dividends for the year of AU 4.5 cents per share.