Despite the recession consumers with a sweet tooth are still snapping up Thorntons chocolates.
The company has revealed a 2.3% rise in first quarter sales, compared to the same period last year which included contributions from Woolworths and Birthdays, both of which no longer exist.
Chief executive Mike Davies said the company had just launched its Christmas range in its stores, and maintained it was well placed for the all important festive season. Investors liked the news, and Thorntons' shares have climbed 5.75p to 123.75p. Charles Pick at FinnCap said:
[Nearly 40%] of 2008/09 sales were earned in the second quarter which spans the Christmas period and this is a make or break period for Thorntons. We set a target price of 132p in our 10/9/2009 note post the preliminaries so the shares are now in hold territory but the prospective yield of 5.9% is a particular attraction.
