Thorntons says the end of recession is now in sight
CHOCOLATE retailer Thorntons yesterday posted a 4.5 per cent fall in full-year profit, as tighter margins offset a rise in sales, but said the recession appeared to be easing and trade was improving.
The 98-year-old chocolate maker on reported a pre-tax profit of £81m for the year to June 27, including a one-off £1.8m pension scheme credit, while sales grew 3.2 per cent to £214.8m
Thorntons, which has 379 stores, said sales grew 6.1 per cent in the second-half and that trade had stabilised.
“We’re seeing early signs that the worst of the recession is over,” chief executive Mike Davies said. “I wouldn’t have said that prior to June, but sales continue to make good progress.”
The company said margins in the first half of the year in particular had been hit by the consumer downturn before Christmas, but trading improved in the second half.
Broker Investec, encouraged by Thorntons’ second-half performance, upgraded its 2010 and 2011 pretax profit forecasts by six per cent and maintained a “buy” rating on the group.
Over the year Thorntons’ own store sales fell two per cent on a like-for-like basis.