Jewellery chain Michael Hill International has increased annual sales 9.7 per cent, the fastest pace in three years.

Sales rose to $A482.8 million in the 12 months ended June 30, from $440m a year earlier, the Brisbane-based retailer said in a statement on Tuesday.

Same-store sales rose five per cent to $433.9m.

The company relocated to Australia in 2008, transferring its intellectual property to an Australian subsidiary in a transaction that put its head office in its largest market and generated tax breaks.

Michael Hill didn’t provide any indication of profitability in its latest statement, and said it expects to release its 2014 earnings on August 15.

In the past year, Australian sales have risen 4.4 per cent to $302.1m, while Canadian sales have increased 37 per cent to $70.4m, US sales were up 8.7 per cent to $10.9m and sales in New Zealand have gained 12 per cent to $99.5m.

However, some of the gains reflected an appreciation in local currencies against the Aussie dollar, with New Zealand sales declining 1.5 per cent in local currency terms, US sales down 2.8 per cent and Canadian sales appreciating at a 30 per cent rate.

Sales from the retailer’s professional care plan business rose about 20 per cent to $31.7m and the company brought $20m of the plan revenue to income, up 51 per cent from the year earlier.

The shares advanced 0.8 per cent to $NZ1.24 on the NZX on Tuesday morning, but have slipped 12 per cent in the past year.

BusinessDesk