Hotel Chocolat full year profit to be in line with expectations
Hotel Chocolat has said its full year pre-tax profit will be in line with market expectations as it reported an uplift in revenue.
In a trading update, the company said revenue increased by 14% to £132 million in the 52 weeks to 30 June.
Hotel Chocolat opened 16 new stores in the year, of which two were in the US. The new stores contributed 5% to group sales. It also entered into a joint venture in Japan which resulted in two stores launching in Tokyo.
The company said trading since the end of the financial year has been in line with management’s expectations.
Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive of Hotel Chocolat, said: “I’m really pleased with our performance this year, delivering strong growth across all parts of the Hotel Chocolat multi-channel, direct-to-consumer model. New activities in the year included openings in the US and Japan; the launch of the Velvetiser – our in-home drinking chocolate system; and the introduction of our VIP ME rewards card scheme, all of which present substantial future growth opportunities.”
