Thorntons has reported an increase in total sales of 6.3% to £93.1 million for the 14 weeks up to and including 11 January 2014.
Sales increased by 17.1% to £47.0 million in Thorntons’ FMCG division demonstrating, the company said, the continued strength of the brand with its commercial partners. UK commercial sales rose by 21.1% as a result of a good Christmas performance driven by sales of seasonal specialities, a broadening of sales across the commercial customer base, and early spring deliveries.
International sales decreased by 15.5% in the quarter although growth for the half year remained positive at 9.2%. At less than 2% of total company sales, the company pointed out that international sales remain a small part of the business.
Sales declined in the retail division by 2.9% to £46.1 million, reflecting 36 store closures compared to the same period last year, in line with Thorntons’ strategy. The company closed seven stores in the period which resulted in 281 own stores at the end of the quarter. Like-for-like sales increased by 3.5%.
"Our performance over this important period demonstrates continued good progress in the transformation of our business,” said Jonathan Hart, Thorntons' chief executive. “We are pleased that both our operating divisions delivered positive results with strong sales in our FMCG division and encouraging like-for-like growth in our Retail division. Customer response to our new seasonal lines, in particular our Advent calendars and our Snowman licensed range, exceeded our expectations. We also saw good growth in our core boxed chocolate ranges, notably through our refreshed Classics selections.”
"As expected, economic conditions remain challenging for many of our customers and the market overall was very competitive. As such we continue to plan accordingly. These results are further positive evidence of the actions we have taken over the past two and a half years to rebalance our business and revitalise our great brand. We are confident in our plans for the key spring seasons, in particular Easter. Our current outlook for the financial year remains in line with market expectations.”
