CHOCOLATE maker Thorntons saw its full-year profits jump 60 per cent as it continued to close its own shops and rely on improving supermarket sales.
The Derbyshire-based business, which has branches in Bradford, Keighley, Skipton, Halifax and Brighouse, said pre-tax profits leapt to £7.4 million in the year to June 28 as sales through third-party outlets rose 9.7 per cent to £99.4 million. Group sales edged up 0.6 per cent to £222.4 million.
The group is now at the end of a three-year turnaround that has seen it close dozens of stores, taking it to 260 sites. Over the next three years it plans 180 to 200 stores, almost half of which will have been refitted.
Chief executive Jonathan Hart said: “We are pleased with these results which indicate continued strong recovery in our profitability and are testament to the strategy we put in place.”
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