Hallmark Cards Inc. reported a 9 percent increase in sales in 1999, the highest growth rate for the greeting card company since 1995's 12 percent jump in revenue.

Hallmark, the world's largest greeting card maker, had sales of $4.2 billion last year. Kansas City-based Hallmark is a privately held company and releases only sales figures.

The company said sales were boosted by several acquisitions, including The Picture People, a chain of mall-based portrait studios; DaySpring, a Christian greeting card company; and InterArt, a distributor of personal expression products sold in more than 23,000 stores in the United States and Canada.

Hallmark also has announced an initial public offering of its Crown Media Holdings stock. Crown Media, a subsidiary of the Hallmark Entertainment division, plans to sell up to $287.5 million worth of stock.

Crown Media operates three television cable channels: Hallmark Entertainment Networks in more than 70 international markets, the Kermit Channel in Asia and the Odyssey Network in the United States.