Shares of Thorntons surged 9p to 88p this morning after the upmarket chocolate retailer and wholesaler said it had enjoyed strong sales growth since Christmas.

Thorntons, which is three years away from celebrating its centenary, said sales in its stores in the 14 weeks to last Saturday were up 3.3 per cent on the same period last year.

It said this was partly due to the later timing of Easter this year — which gave it a further three weeks to sell its produce in advance of the big day.

Chief executive Mike Davies said that, as a result, the company, based in Alfreton, Derbyshire, expects full year pre-tax profits — before an anticipated pension scheme credit of £1.8million — to be no less than £5million.

He added: “Our cost reduction initiatives announced at the time of the interim results, combined with our continued focus on product innovation and customer service, are showing results.”

The figures mark a significant turnaround from trading in the run-up to Christmas. Thorntons was hit by the collapse of Woolworths which, in the previous year, had accounted for some £4.6million worth of sales.

David Stoddart, of broker Altium Securities, said it was possible Thorntons had benefited from the absence of Woolworths — previously Britain’s biggest Easter Egg retailer — from the market this year.

He added: “Thornton’s third quarter was stronger than we expected, perhaps helped by the absence of Woolworths as a major high street competitor for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter, coupled with a longer selling period ahead of the latter.”

However, the picture was less positive at Thorntons Direct, where sales fell by 6.8 per cent, to £2million, as corporate customers cut back on spending.

The company, which traces its roots back to 1911 when Joseph William Thornton opened a sweet shop in Sheffield with his teenage son, has closed one of its own stores and 10 franchised stores since January. As of last Saturday, Thorntons was trading from 634 outlets, of which 380 are owned by the company.

Mr Davies announced plans last year to move Thorntons more into the ‘super premium’ end of the chocolate market this year. The strategy includes rolling out more cafe-style stores to pick up more passing trade and which, it is intended, will make Thorntons more of a ‘year round’ business and less dependent on big events like Christmas and Easter.

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