Thorntons has announced its interim results for the 28 weeks ended 9 January 2010, with a 0.7% drop in sales.
The company reported significantly improved profitability, which is mainly due to reduced levels of discounting in own stores during the period before Christmas and more profitable sales within the commercial channel.
Although overall sales were down, sales of Thorntons’ branded products, excluding private label products, across all channels increased by 5.5%.
Mike Davies, Thorntons chief executive, said: “I am pleased to be able to report a significantly improved profit performance for the first six months which was assisted by our decision to avoid heavy discounting of prices in our retail outlets.
“Although the sales volume recorded from our shops suffered a slight decline, sales of Thorntons’ branded products across all channels, excluding private label products.
Thorntons is in the process of adding several new products and has just launched the new Easter range in stores.
