Life is sweet for Hotel Chocolat as it unveils a 28 per cent surge in first-half profits
Life's pretty sweet for Hotel Chocolat at the moment: it has beaten expectations in its interim results and recorded a rise in profits too.
The figures
The chocolatier and retailer beat expectations with a tasty 28 per cent jump in pre-tax profits to £11.2m in the first half of the financial year.
Reported revenue rose 14 per cent to £62.5m compared to the same period a year earlier.
Reporting results for the six months to 25 December, Hotel Chocolat said it had a "very successful" Christmas with some bumper online sales.
It also announced earnings per share of 7.8p.
Read more: Cocoa floats well: Hotel Chocolat revenue and profits rising after IPO
Why it's interesting
The high-end confectioner has given customers a taste for its range of finer treats and has been impressing investors since it floated on Aim in May last year. Shares closed on Tuesday 73 per cent above the IPO price.
Last month, boss Angus Thirlwell said sales of its hampers, which cost between £50 and £500, were up 80 per cent. Hotel Chocolat bolstered its Christmas ranges for the festive period resulting in a rise in footfall and people developing a penchant for higher-priced gift items.
The retailer is expecting a cracking Easter (Source: Hotel Chocolat)
And with Mother's Day and Easter still to come, Hotel Chocolat is confident of strong sales continuing. Alongside more traditional Easter eggs, the retailer also sells chocolate "egg sandwiches" among its quirkier offerings in the run-up to the holiday.
Read more: Hotel Chocolat's on a sugar high as it begins first day of trading
What the company said
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive, said:
The critical Christmas period was very successful, helped by good availability, popular and innovative new ranges and significantly increased digital transactions.
We have strong plans in place for the key spring seasons of Mother's Day and Easter and are confident of further progress.
He added the firm continued to make "good headway" against its three strategic objectives of opening more stores, improving its digital capability and increasing its production capability.