Grief, £1 a year ago (Dec 2010, and that was a discount!) _DYOR - and now a shadow of that.

- perhaps they should introduce the Exploding chocco - these contain a small amount of TNT and although it's only a small amount, it can practically blow your head off, so you are left speechless, at least until the sinues manage to flip your skull back and normality is restored.

Not sure that a Yield of 6% will last much longer . . . . is there oodles of debt?

News of inferior profits sent stock down 38% - give me some of those new sweetmeats.
EDIT (23Jan2012)...jump up 38% today....MM's playing Buys/Sells about evens.

Coming along nicely today.

16.25 / 16.50p +0.875p

for those buying lately it seems they are on the profit now, I did get some @ 13.62p
Share price has finally decided to move forward today and ahead of Thursday 16th Interim results. Some good buying earlier on and for the last week, but did not move forward.

6 days chart

there is a buyer on the market at 16.50p, at the moment it comes as 10K on the order book and every time is taken another one comes up, is a way of disguise the full amount the investors has put on.

other investors have noticed that also and are now buying in larger size 29K 11K

only 5K left at offer 17p now

Making some progress today. Much more AT buying than usuall, and an intra day auction to boot.

Another +5% so far today. Currently unable to buy on line in size.

A five per cent rise in the morning is quite respectable. I should think we might go into the Easter holiday weekend clear of 35.

After that there will be the Easter trading report to look forward to.

Trading Update.

Key points:

· Total sales for the nine weeks increased by £1.8 million to £24.7 million, an improvement of 7.8%.

· Commercial sales grew by £2.9m to £9.3 million, due to the introduction of this summer's 'Best of British' range and some differences in the timing of deliveries to our Commercial customers.

· Own Store like for like sales increased by 0.7%. Overall sales in Own Stores declined £0.7m to £13.7 million as a result of the 36 store closures during the year, in line with the Company's strategy.

· Franchise sales declined to £0.9 million. Sales were adversely affected by the administration of Clinton Cards Plc. Thorntons had franchises in 30 Birthdays stores and 16 Clinton Cards stores.

· Thorntons Direct sales were broadly flat at £0.8 million.

· We anticipate profit before tax, impairment and onerous lease charges for the full year to be in line with our expectations.

Trading Statement

Key points

· Total sales for the 14 weeks increased by £4.5 million to £88.0 million, an improvement of 5.4% compared with the same period last year.

· Thorntons branded Commercial sales grew strongly by 26.4% to £34.7 million. Thorntons' share of the Total Boxed Chocolate market increased from 11.7% to 12.1% and its share of the Inlaid Boxed Chocolate market increased from 33.5% to 35.0%.*

· In Own Stores like for like sales declined by 1.3%. A further three stores were closed in the quarter, in line with the strategy, resulting in 27 fewer stores than a year ago. This was the major contributor to the sales decrease of 9.0% to £40.9 million in Own Stores.

· Franchise sales declined by £1.1 million to £3.0 million as expected, mainly reflecting the placing into administration of our major franchisee in May 2012.

· Thorntons Direct sales decreased by £0.7 million to £4.8 million as the late deployment of the new website combined with operational issues had a significant impact on sales in the period.

· Private label sales substantially increased to £2.5 million.

· International sales grew by 69.0% to £2.1 million reflecting a positive first response to our strategic initiatives over the past year in this area.

* Nielsen MAT (Moving Annual Total) to week ended 29/12/12

Notice of Half Year Results

Thorntons will announce its half year results for the 28 weeks ended 12(th) January 2013 on Monday 25(th) February 2013.

Continuing with the bounce and a good rise today

results due on 12 days time


Thorntons gives notice of results
Chocolate retailer Thorntons (LON:THT) will announce its half year results for the 28 weeks ended 12th January 2013
on Monday 25th February 2013.

Looking very strong here - although maybe a tad over bought.

re- overbought

A share with RSI moving to over 60 ( just the right time ) for a large movement up and with volume today ready for a BREAK OUT 46p.

overbought will be when goes to 85/90 on the RSI, has been there before ( july and September )

I was alluding to the Williams % - anyhow, looking good atm.

Half Yearly Report

Financial

· Revenues up 2.9% to £133.7 million (2012: £130.0 million).

· Profit before tax and exceptional items rose by £2.2 million to £5.3 million (2012: £3.1 million).

· Profit after tax rose by 49.3% to £4.0 million (2012: £2.7 million)

· Exceptional items total £0.7 million (2012: £2.4 million) consisting of impairment and onerous lease provision movements.

· Cash generated from operations £15.0 million (2012: £11.6 million).

· Net debt at period end was £17.5 million (2012: £16.2 million).

· There is no interim dividend (2012: Nil).


Operational

· Sales of Thorntons branded product in the UK Commercial channel increased strongly by 16.1% to £51.8 million (2012: £44.6 million).

· Significant market share gains in UK Commercial channel.

· Own Store sales declined by 8.3% to £62.6 million (2012: £68.3 million), mainly due to the closure of a further 13 stores in line with the long-term strategy. Like for like sales decreased by 1.5%.

· Franchise sales declined by 25.4% to £5.0 million (2012: £6.7 million), mainly reflecting the placing into administration of our major franchisee in May 2012.

· Thorntons Direct sales declined by 11.9% to £5.9 million (2012: £6.7 million) due to the late deployment of our new website and operational issues in the peak selling period.

· International sales grew by 57.7% to £4.1 million (2012: £2.6 million).

· Sales of Private Label grew to £3.9 million from £0.8 million.

· As a consequence of the continued rebalancing of sales away from Own Stores
into Commercial channels gross margin declined by 1.1% points.

Classic chart.

a corner has been turned - foot is on the gas - skys the limit imho

Bit annoyed that despite banging on about these since last summer, I only had a token amount before the results. Hey ho!

Higher BREAK OUT

Is moving higher after yesterday's good results and director buying stock

Director Deals - Thorntons PLC (THT)

Paul Wilkinson, Non Executive Director, bought 310,000 shares in the company on the 25th February 2013 at a price of 47.00p. The Director now holds 1,000,503 shares.

just added more on the pull back.

Not far of Easter now.

Surely they wil give an update after the holiday.

Fingers crossed it should be good.

Moving up lads..........buy buy buy.

Get some bought cyners.

Miton Group plc > 10%

Just checked with Philp Dorgan at Panmure - raised their target to 100p on Thortons from 80p on Friday.

Sounds like Mothers day and Easter going well imo :-)

Flying this morning up 8% and recent broker upgrade to 100p SP target cant be bad. Got a trading statement last year on the 3rd of may. Covered mothers day and easter.

Full steam ahead.

Gaining momentum now.

Yep up over 5% on the day Mitzy. Numis have a 100p SP target.

Bugger!

lol.

RNS - results ahead of expectations :)

EASTER TRADING UPDATE

The Board of Thorntons confirms that Easter trading has been satisfactory.

When combined with similarly satisfactory results from both Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, the Board now anticipates that the pre-exceptional Profit Before Tax for the 52 weeks to June 29th 2013 will be ahead of the current market expectation of £3.1 million.

However, we remain cautious of the prevailing economy and its continuing impact on consumer expenditure.

We will continue to work through the detail of the recent trading period and will provide further information in our Q3 IMS currently scheduled for Wednesday 24th April 2013.


ENDS

BRIEF-Thorntons sees FY profit ahead of expectations03 Apr 2013 - 07:07

LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Thorntons PLC : * The board of Thorntons confirms that easter trading has been satisfactory * Pre-exceptional profit before tax for year will be ahead of current market expectation of £3.1 million ((London Equities Newsroom; +44 20 7542 7717)) ((For more news, please click here [THT.L]))

UPDATE 1-Easter egg sales boost Thorntons' profit outlook03 Apr 2013 - 08:43

(Adds detail, background, shares) LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - British chocolate maker Thorntons PLC said full year profit should beat market expectations after 'satisfactory' trading over Easter, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. The group said it expected its pre-exceptional profit before tax for the year ending June 29 to be ahead of the current market expectations of 3.1 million pounds ($4.7 million). Shares in Thorntons, which have more than doubled over the last 12 months, rose over 5 percent to 72.75 pence by 0727 GMT on Wednesday. The company, established by Joseph William Thornton in 1911, has been coping with a slowdown in consumer demand by closing its high street stores and focusing more on its online business and selling wholesale. In February it reported a 70 percent rise in first-half profit to 5.3 million pounds. [ID:nL4N0BP2UL] Brokers at Investec reiterated their 'buy' recommendation on Thorntons' stock, saying Wednesday's statement showed "continued positive momentum in the business". ($1 = 0.6610 British pounds) (Reporting By Dasha Afanasieva, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) ((Dasha.Afanasieva@thomsonreuters.com)(+44)(0)(207 542 4673)(Reuters Messaging: Dasha.Afanasieva.thomsonreuters@thomsonreuters.net)) Keywords: THORNTONS/

Brokers at Investec reiterated their 'buy' recommendation on Thorntons' stock, saying Wednesday's statement showed "continued positive momentum in the business".

03 Apr Thorntons PLC THT Investec Buy 71.38 69.00 80.00 - Reiterates

SP TARGET 80p.

Trading Statement

Key points

· Total sales for the period which includes Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter increased by 4.0% to £60.6 million compared to the same period last year.

· Thorntons branded UK Commercial sales grew by 10.0% to £27.4 million with good growth across all three seasons. Thorntons' share of the Total Boxed Chocolate market increased from 11.7% to 12.2% in the last 52 weeks and its share of the Inlaid Boxed Chocolate market increased from 32.9% to 35.6%*. Sales of Easter specialities grew by 23.5% and Easter market share grew to 4.7% from 4.0% last year**.

· Own Stores like for like sales grew by 0.2% with growth during each of the three key seasons. Total sales were down 4.1% to £26.0 million as a further 9 stores were closed in the quarter, in line with the strategy, resulting in 24 fewer stores than a year ago.

· Franchise sales declined by £0.6 million to £2.2 million as expected, mainly reflecting the placing into administration of our major franchisee in May 2012.

· Thorntons Direct sales decreased by 4.6% to £2.2 million with the Consumer Direct business delivering growth at Easter as improvements from the new website began to feed through.

· Private label sales increased to £1.7 million.

· International sales grew by 30.8% to £1.1 million.

* Nielsen: Total Boxed Chocolates & Inlaid Boxed Chocolates 52 weeks to week ending 30th March 2013
** Nielsen: Easter Specialities 14 weeks to week ending 6th April 2013

Investec Buy 79.50 75.75 80.00 100.00 Reiterates

100p soon.

No stopping it now for 100p.

CLOSE OF FINAL QUARTER


At the time of its trading update on 24 April, Thorntons stated that as a result of growing market share and improvement in margins due to actions taken over the past two years there was potential for further profit improvement in the final quarter. The Board is pleased to report that a combination of sales growth and careful cost management has enabled the additional profit potential to be realised and accordingly pre-exceptional profit before tax for the full year to 29 June 2013 will be ahead of current market expectations*.

Thorntons will provide a final-quarter trading update on 15 July and its full year results will be announced on 11 September 2013.

* Current market consensus is £4.6m

ENDS

Trading Statement

Thorntons today reports its fourth quarter trading update for the ten weeks up to and including 29 June 2013, which demonstrates further progress in transforming the business. As this quarter is a ten week period (last year nine weeks), the figures for 2012 have been adjusted to allow comparison.

· Total sales - Increase of 5.6% to £26.8 million.

· Commercial (FMCG) Division- Continued strong growth in the Commercial division which will become Thorntons' largest division by the end of the current financial year in line with the strategy to rebalance the business. The prospects for the International channel continue to be encouraging, although currently still a small proportion of overall sales.
- UK Commercial sales grew by 11.8% to £9.2 million.
- International sales more than doubled to £0.9 million.
- Private label sales increased to £0.7 million.

· Retail Division - Showed good progress towards the objective of creating a sustainable retail estate of 180-200 stores. The period saw positive like-for-like sales in Own Stores, a trend also reflected in the Franchise channel.
- Own Store like-for-like sales increased by 0.5%. Overall sales in Own Stores declined 3.8% to £13.9 million as a result of the 34 store closures during the year, in line with the Company's strategy.
- Franchise sales improved by £0.2 million to £1.3 million.
- Thorntons Direct sales decreased by £0.1 million to £0.8 million.

· As announced on 2 July 2013 we anticipate profit before tax, impairment and onerous lease charges for the full year to be ahead of current market expectations.*

* Current market consensus is £4.6m

Some signs of ready for the turn TARGET 100p

Late this afternoon has broken from the 84p top during the last 2 weeks

Covered the gap at 75p from late april and report I think next week. Could be a good trading buy.

Final Results

Financial
· Revenues up 1.8% to £221.1 million (2012: £217.1 million)
· Profit before tax and exceptional items increased to £5.6 million (2012: £0.9 million)
· Pre-exceptional operating profit (EBIT) margin increased to 3.3% (2012: 1.3%)
· Basic EPS 5.6p (2012: loss of 1.4p)
· Cash generated from operations £8.3 million (2012: £1.5 million)
· Net debt £27.5 million (2012: £29.1 million)
· IAS 19 Pension deficit reduced to £24.9 million (2012: £29.1million)
· Dividend waived (2012: Nil)

Operational
· Continued to successfully rebalance revenues towards the Fast Moving Consumer Goods ("FMCG") division (formerly Sales & Operations). Good progress with reducing Own Stores estate to a sustainable size for the longer-term.
· Begun to revitalise the Thorntons brand with a new brand identity, clear product categorisation and a refreshed range including innovative new products for year-round chocolate gifting.
· Significant progress towards restoring profitability to industry competitive returns over the medium to long-term. Continued focus on improving margins and controlling costs.
· FMCG division continued its strong growth with a 19% increase in sales and will become Thorntons' largest division by the end of the current financial year. The prospects for the International channel continue to be encouraging, although it is currently still a small proportion of overall sales.
- UK Commercial sales grew by 11.2% to £88.7 million.
- International sales increased from £3.9 million to £6.1 million.
- Private label sales increased from £1.3 million to £6.3 million.
- Manufacturing Operations delivered record levels of production.
· Retail division continued good progress towards the objective of creating a sustainable Own Store retail estate of 180 to 200 stores.
- Own Store like-for-like sales down 0.8% (2012: down 3.8%) but saw a small growth in the second half of the year. Overall sales in Own Stores declined by 8.0% to £102.5 million as a result of the 35 store closures during the year.
- Franchise sales declined to £8.5 million, primarily as a result of the administration of a major franchisee partner in May 2012.
- Thorntons Direct sales decreased by 10.0% to £9.0 million.

Solid set of results, bang on forecasts with margin growth exceeding forecasts.
Looking forward to the future..............

Thorntons today announces its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 29 June 2013.



Financial

· Revenues up 1.8% to £221.1 million (2012: £217.1 million)

· Profit before tax and exceptional items increased to £5.6 million (2012: £0.9 million)

· Pre-exceptional operating profit (EBIT) margin increased to 3.3% (2012: 1.3%)

· Basic EPS 5.6p (2012: loss of 1.4p)

· Cash generated from operations £8.3 million (2012: £1.5 million)

· Net debt £27.5 million (2012: £29.1 million)

· IAS 19 Pension deficit reduced to £24.9 million (2012: £29.1million)

· Dividend waived (2012: Nil)



Operational

· Continued to successfully rebalance revenues towards the Fast Moving Consumer Goods ("FMCG") division (formerly Sales & Operations). Good progress with reducing Own Stores estate to a sustainable size for the longer-term.

· Begun to revitalise the Thorntons brand with a new brand identity, clear product categorisation and a refreshed range including innovative new products for year-round chocolate gifting.

· Significant progress towards restoring profitability to industry competitive returns over the medium to long-term. Continued focus on improving margins and controlling costs.

· FMCG division continued its strong growth with a 19% increase in sales and will become Thorntons' largest division by the end of the current financial year. The prospects for the International channel continue to be encouraging, although it is currently still a small proportion of overall sales.

- UK Commercial sales grew by 11.2% to £88.7 million.

- International sales increased from £3.9 million to £6.1 million.

- Private label sales increased from £1.3 million to £6.3 million.

- Manufacturing Operations delivered record levels of production.

· Retail division continued good progress towards the objective of creating a sustainable Own Store retail estate of 180 to 200 stores.

- Own Store like-for-like sales down 0.8% (2012: down 3.8%) but saw a small growth in the second half of the year. Overall sales in Own Stores declined by 8.0% to £102.5 million as a result of the 35 store closures during the year.

- Franchise sales declined to £8.5 million, primarily as a result of the administration of a major franchisee partner in May 2012.

- Thorntons Direct sales decreased by 10.0% to £9.0 million.

Reckon a few were dissapointed no dividend was paid.

Going to hold.

Trading Statement

FMCG Division
Divisional sales increased by 11.0% to £23.8 million reflecting continuing strong demand from our commercial partners:
· UK Commercial sales rose by 11.2%.
· International sales increased by 36.1%, although this remains a small part of overall sales.

Retail Division
Divisional sales declined by 5.7% to £23.2 million as we closed eight stores in the period resulting in 288 Own Stores at the end of the quarter.
· Like for like sales decreased by 0.4%.
· Consumer Direct sales returned to growth, increasing by 14.2%, although this also remains a small part of overall sales.
· Franchise sales improved by 17.3%.

In for a penny in for a pound. 2nd buy ive gone for.............

Crystal Amber buying more Thorntons (THT). Now 107.25p to buy.

Lovely breakout at THORNTONS THT .........

Well done everyone 115p soon.

THT Thorntons.

Missed this from last week......

Thorntons Plc Coverage Initiated at N+1 Singer (THT)
Posted by Tammy Falkenburg on Oct 17th, 2013

N+1 Singer started coverage on shares of Thorntons Plc (LON:THT) in a research note issued on Thursday, Analyst RN reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a GBX 140 ($2.23) price target on the stock. N+1 Singer’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 35.12% from the company’s current price.

Thorntons Plc (LON:THT) opened at 106.00 on Thursday. Thorntons Plc has a 52-week low of GBX 28.10 and a 52-week high of GBX 110.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of GBX 84.58 and a 200-day moving average of GBX 82.27. The company’s market cap is £71.9 million.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Panmure Gordon reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Thorntons Plc in a research note to investors on Wednesday, October 9th. They now have a GBX 116 ($1.85) price target on the stock. Separately, analysts at Investec raised their price target on shares of Thorntons Plc from GBX 112 ($1.79) to GBX 124 ($1.98) in a research note to investors on Wednesday, October 9th. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, analysts at Investec reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Thorntons Plc in a research note to investors on Wednesday, September 11th. They now have a GBX 112 ($1.79) price target on the stock.

Thorntons PLC is a United Kingdom-based engaged in the manufacturing, retailing and distribution of confectionery and other sweet foods

07 Jan 2014 Thorntons PLC THT Investec Buy 133.63 134.00 124.00 161.00 Reiterates

161p SP TARGET.

Q2 Trading Update

FMCG Division
Sales increased by 17.1% to £47.0 million demonstrating the continued strength of the Thorntons brand with our commercial partners.
· UK Commercial sales rose by 21.1% as a result of a good Christmas performance driven by excellent sales of our seasonal specialities, a broadening of sales across our Commercial customer base, and early spring deliveries.
· International sales decreased by 15.5% in the quarter although growth for the half year remained positive at 9.2%. At less than 2% of total Company sales, international sales remain a small part of the business.

Retail Division
Sales declined by 2.9% to £46.1 million reflecting 36 store closures compared to the same period last year, in line with our strategy. We closed seven stores in the period which resulted in 281 Own Stores at the end of the quarter.
· Like-for-like sales increased by 3.5%.
· Consumer Direct sales delivered good growth, increasing by 27.0%.
· Franchise sales declined by 3.1% in the quarter due to timing of orders, although grew by 5.0% over the half year.

PANMURE GORDON MORNING NOTE.....

Thorntons : Strong Q2 but no change to FY expectations
Recommendation – Buy
Analysts – Simon French +44 (0)151 243 0974 & Karl Burns +44 (0)151 243 0976

Thorntons has announced a strong Q2 reporting 6.3% sales growth for the 14 weeks to 11 January. FMCG sales increased 17.1%, an acceleration on the Q1 performance and Retail sales declined by 2.9%, less than in Q1. Within FMCG, UK Commercial sales rose by 21.1% reflecting excellent sales of seasonal specialities. Within Retail, LFL sales increased 3.5%, against a comparative of 1.3% and Consumer Direct (online) sales increased 27.0%. The group’s outlook remains unchanged and we expect no change to market expectations of £7.4m PBT although we think the risk to consensus remains on the upside, subject to ‘normal’ Easter trading. Reflecting this upside risk and reiterate our Buy recommendation

16 Jan 2014 Thorntons PLC THT N+1 Singer Buy 144.38 143.25 140.00 160.00 Reiterates

RESEARCH ALERT-Thorntons: Panmure raises target price to 150p

16 Jan 2014 - 08:54
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Thorntons PLC : * Panmure raises target price to 150p From 116p; rating buy For a summary of rating actions and price target changes on European companies: Reuters Eikon users, click on [RCH/EUROPE] Reuters 3000Xtra users, double-click [RCH/EUROPE] Thomson ONE users, type in RT/RCH/EUROPE ((nyc.equities.newsroom@reuters.com); (Reuters Messaging: saqib.ahmed.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) ((Bangalore Newsroom +91 80 6749 1130; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780))

Half Year results

Thorntons today announces its half-year results for the 28 weeks ended 11 January 2014.

Financial Highlights
· Revenues increased by 4.5% to £139.7 million (2013: £133.7 million)
· Profit before tax and exceptional items grew by 47.3% to £7.2 million (2013 restated*: £4.9 million)
· EBIT margin increased to 6.2% (2013 restated: 4.9%)
· Basic EPS 7.8 pence (2013 restated: 4.5 pence)
· Cash generated from operations £13.0 million (2013: £15.0 million)
· Exceptional costs totalled £1.0 million (2013: £0.7 million), consisting of impairment and onerous lease provision movements

Operational Highlights
· Sales in the FMCG division grew by 14.5% to £70.6 million (2013 restated: £61.6 million) and exceeded sales in the Retail division for the first time
o UK Commercial grew by 17.3% growth to £62.4 million (2013 restated: £53.2 million):
- Further broadening and deepening of distribution across UK Commercial customer base
- Success of Christmas seasonal specialities grew by 68%
- Good take up of early spring deliveries
o International sales grew to £4.5 million (2013: £4.1 million)

· Within the Retail division, a strong first half in Own Stores and good growth from online Consumer Direct channel resulted in 2.1% like-for-like growth (2013: -2.2%)
o On track to close approximately 40 stores during the financial year, with 15 stores closing during the period, towards our objective of creating a store portfolio of between 180 and 200 stores in the medium-term
o Consumer Direct sales increased by 23.4% to £4.1 million (2013: £3.3 million)
o Franchise sales increased to £5.1 million (2013: £5.0 million).

bought some at the end of the day at 151p
why?

The share price has settled for the last few days, today there was large volume, most larger size buys, this points to the retracement being finished and the start of a new uptrend.

Positive signal
1 -the lows of the last 4 days around 148p has not been seen today
2 - the Candlestick also was bullish at the close yesterday signaling a BUY the Candlestick was a Bullish Harami
3 - large volume
4 - Easter is on the way ( chocolate items for sell )


MAM Chart can not be trusted as no trade under 150p was done today but shows as 146p, below a better one

Slowly but surely is moving higher now 152p, on a day of a very down market

Should be good new for Thortons

UK retail sales up by 1.7%
Retail sales staged a bigger-than-expected bounce-back last month as shoppers returned to the high street after a weather-hit January, according to official figures.

Retail sales staged a bigger-than-expected bounce-back last month as shoppers returned to the high street after a weather-hit January, according to official figures.
Sorry, you must sign in before you can print full articles.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales volumes rose 1.7% month on month in February, smashing forecasts for sales to edge 0.5% higher.

It comes after a disappointing January, with the ONS revealing that sales fell even more than first thought, down by 2% against an initial estimate for a 1.5% decline.

Even stripping out the often volatile changes from month to month, sales were 1.6% higher in the three months to the end of February compared with the previous three-month period - the highest since August last year.

Experts said the figures boosted hopes for another robust performance from the economy in the first quarter, easing fears that the extreme wet weather and flooding knocked the recovery off track.

Alan Clarke, director at Scotiabank, said the figures showed retail sales "are flying"

Chocos doing the job nicely a spike to 154p just now

what a day finishing well up and witht he "UT" at offer price 157p

looking forward to what tomorrow brings

Are these worth an Easter punt - Q3 Trading update 30/04/14 (E)

Trading Statement

THIRD QUARTER TRADING UPDATE & INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT

Thorntons today reports on trading during its third quarter for the 15 weeks up to and including 26 April 2014. Both operating divisions reported good sales of Easter specialities.

Sales in the third quarter saw a reduction of 7.6% against the same period last year due to the combined effect of early spring deliveries in our second quarter, slower sales through February and March in our UK Commercial channel and the cumulative effect of planned store closures.

For the year to date, UK Commercial sales have increased by 8.6% and the Retail division has delivered positive like-for-like growth of 1.8%.

FMCG Division
· UK Commercial sales declined by 8.0%. A strong Easter performance, where sales of our seasonal specialities grew in excess of 20%, was offset by the impact of the early spring sales reported in the second quarter combined with slower sales in February and March and a performance at Valentine's Day and Mother's Day that fell below expectations.
· International sales increased by 3.4%, accounting for just under 3% of total revenue.

Retail Division
· Like-for-like sales increased by 1.2% driven by a consistent performance over the key spring seasons including Easter.
· Own store sales declined by 8.8% reflecting 38 store closures compared to the same period last year in line with its strategy. Ten stores closed in the period resulting in 271 Own Stores at the end of the quarter.
· Consumer Direct sales increased by 5.6%.
· Franchise sales increased by 5.7%.

Jonathan Hart, Thorntons' Chief Executive, commented:
"Set against the continuing backdrop of a competitive and challenging trading environment the key Easter season saw all our channels delivering sales growth. Customers responded positively to our Easter innovations and we anticipate further good growth in our Easter market share.

"Despite this third quarter result we are satisfied with the overall performance of the business for the year to date and we look forward to our UK Commercial channel returning to growth in our short final quarter. The Board remains confident that Thorntons will perform in line with market expectations for the full year* and we continue to be confident that our transformation is on track and our strategy is appropriate and working."

The finance director has bought 20,000 - Director Shareholding

Final Results

Financial

· Revenues increased by 0.6% to £222.4 million (2013: £221.1 million)
· Profit before tax and exceptional items increased by 60.4% to £7.5 million (2013*: £4.7 million)
· EBIT margin increased to 4.5% (2013*: 3.4%)
· Basic EPS 7.8p (2013*: 4.6p)
· Cash generated from operations £4.6 million (2013: £8.3 million)
· Net debt £32.9 million (2013: £27.5 million)

Operational

· Successfully delivered our strategy to rebalance the business, revitalise our brand and restore profitability
- FMCG division grew by 7.8% to £111.0 million (2013*: £103.0 million):
- Sales in UK Commercial, our largest channel, increased by 9.7% to £99.4 million (2013*: £90.6 million)
- International sales grew by 4.9% to £6.4 million (2013: 6.1 million). Prospects for our International channel continue to be encouraging, although it is still a small proportion of overall sales
- Private label sales fell by 17.5% to £5.2 million (2013: £6.3 million)
- Significant investment committed to our manufacturing facilities

· Retail division delivered 1.1% growth in like-for-like sales over the period (2013: 0.8% decline), our best performance for more than six years:
- Own Store sales were £94.9 million (2013*: £102.5 million) with a net 36 stores closed during the year in line with the strategy
- Consumer Direct sales increased by 14.3% to £6.4 million (2013*: £5.6 million)
- Franchise sales rose by 1.2% to £8.6 million (2013: £8.5 million)

THT THONTONS PLC ...looks no reason why it cant go on and replicate last years upward action going into XMAS Mothers Day and Easter.

Looking to take out resistance at 134p 148p 160p and previous top of 165p.

Recent increase in volume and MACD positive.

FUNDIES

Year Ending Revenue (£m) Pre-tax (£m) EPS P/E PEG EPS Grth. Div Yield

29-Jun-13 221.05 4.29 5.31p 17.4 0.2 +101% n/a 0.0%

Historical P/E of 17 to june 2013.

Thorntons PLC

FORECASTS

2015 2016
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)
N+1 Singer
12-11-14 BUY 10.68 10.90 13.97 14.40
Investec Securities
07-11-14 BUY 9.40 9.68 11.80 12.15
Charles Stanley Securities [R]
15-01-14 BUY 9.80 10.45 13.20 13.98

GROWTH

2014 (A) 2015 (E) 2016 (E)
Norm. EPS 111.97% 11.13% 29.36%
DPS % % %

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2014 (A) 2015 (E) 2016 (E)
EBITDA £18.40m £20.62m £23.79m
EBIT £10.95m £m £m
Dividend Yield 0.00% % %
Dividend Cover x x x
PER 12.98x 11.68x 9.03x
PEG 0.12f 1.05f 0.31f
Net Asset Value PS 24.16p 38.70p 55.20p

First Quarter Interim Statement.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/thorntons-plc--tht-/rns/trading-statement/201410130700070494U/

Off to a strong open.

THT up over 5% on the day. XMAS run in?????????

21 Nov 2014 Thorntons PLC THT Investec Buy 121.38 121.50 175.00 168.00 Reiterates

THT Thorntons.Double Bottom developed. Been accumulating these as I think a repeat of last year could be on the cards.

perhaps i'm too snooty by half - a sentiment with which i'm sure stan, gf, fred and a few others would readily agree :-) - but thornton's chocolates really are very nasty indeed

with that in mind, i really do wonder if this company truly has a future

as with their chocolates, this is one i shall definitely not be buying

Lovely chocolates.

Flying off the shelves at M@S

Or are you just sulking because you cocked up Ashrcrofts poll figures a bit like that time over the debate on tax when you cocked up and TANKER took you to task.

stupid boy!
no; i truly think the product is really nasty ... but then i wouldn't buy McD or Subway either .... but i have DOM shares and that's a pretty ugly product too

Ohhhhhhhhhh your a snob.

Sometime you can enjoy yourself coming down to my pleb level.

well i quite like jellied eels and certainly do whelks if properly cooked ; does that count? :-)

Shiteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

its only southerners who eat them.

cockles and mussels are nice.

mussels are frightfully posh!

Not vinegar mussels in a jar from Van Smirren.

I agree cynic the chockos are rubbish and the chart doesn't look good either - 95p on the cards again.

Mr 90% seems to have got this one completely wrong. 119p right now and the chart is saying 95p is far more likely than 134p!

"goldfinger - 13 Nov 2014 00:50 - 72 of 86

THT THONTONS PLC ...looks no reason why it cant go on and replicate last years upward action going into XMAS Mothers Day and Easter.

Looking to take out resistance at 134p 148p 160p and previous top of 165p.

Recent increase in volume and MACD positive."

May be worth a punt in January going by last three years above. Xmas sales, Valentines Day. Results if same as last year end of March and Easter 5th April. You would like to think they should be selling chocolate over these periods. GF maybe got his timing a bit early (wrong) :0)

Profit warning

Thorntons sees FY earnings lower year-on-year

StockMarketWire.com

Thorntons expects a case of more bitter than sweet as its board anticipates FY earnings to be below those achieved for the last financial year.

It said its UK Commercial channel within its FMCG division has faced challenges which have adversely affected its sales performance in the run up to Christmas. However, the Retail division was experiencing like-for-like sales growth.

"Against a strong comparative period last year, the Board now anticipates a decline in sales in the UK Commercial channel for the second quarter of the current financial year," it said.

During the first half there have been two principal challenges. We have recently experienced a significant reduction in previously indicated orders from the major grocers who also took in stock later than anticipated.

"While there has been an overall decline, the performance in the grocers has been mixed with good growth in several of our major partners yet significant volume decline in some others where prior year sales of high-volume lines have not been repeated. We have also seen good growth in the convenience and high street sectors," the company said in a statement.

"Secondly, despite extensive prior testing, we encountered significant short-term difficulties with our new centralised warehouse which resulted in disruption for all our customers. In particular in our UK Commercial channel we experienced lost and late sales with consequent missed promotional slots and reorders.

"Our warehousing and distribution facility is now working normally. The move to a centralised warehouse was essential to meet current and future business patterns and growth. This will result in improved capacity and quality of service for our customers in the future."

Timely management action has resulted in good control of costs and stocks. Christmas seasonal specialities have sold well and no significant excess seasonal stock is anticipated.

The Board remains confident in its strategy, multi-channel approach and ongoing transformation. A further trading update will be issued on 19 January 2015.

what i have posted earlier seems to have been borne out

Yep hit taken, got out quick but a dent in the xmas pile I have made. Not to worry should have made it back by lunch time.

Forget and move on to the next thing.

Unlucky gf on my watch list for the New Year.

as always, impossible to get out (or in) before sp had been marked down heftily

Trading Statement

Thorntons today reports its second quarter trading update, including a strong Retail performance which is in contrast to disappointing UK Commercial sales within our FMCG division. As announced on 23 December 2014, these were a consequence of challenges experienced in a couple of major grocers combined with short-term difficulties at our new centralised warehouse.

The Retail division experienced strong like-for-like sales growth of 5.0% for the quarter as shopper demand for Thorntons' inlaid boxes, seasonal specialities and advent calendars all contributed to an encouraging season culminating in an outstanding 7.8% increase in like-for-like sales during December (1st - 24th), highlighting the strength of our brand and product offering.

FMCG Division
Divisional sales decreased by 10.3% to £41.9 million.
§ UK Commercial sales declined by 10.5%. Overall market share of Christmas* declined to 7.3% from 8.4%, the majority of which was driven by the challenges outlined above.
§ International sales increased by 19.0%.

Retail Division
Divisional sales declined by 2.4% to £44.9 million.
§ Four stores were closed and two relocated as we right size our retail estate to focus on long-term sustainable locations. This resulted in 247 Own Stores at the end of the quarter.
§ Like-for-like sales increased by 5.0%.
§ Consumer Direct sales increased by 13.0%.
§ Franchise sales declined by 6.4%.

Investec Buy 80.75 79.00 168.00 94.00 Reiterates

Half Yearly Report

Financial Highlights

· Revenues £128.2 million (2014: £139.7 million)
· Profit before tax and exceptional items £6.5 million (2014: £7.2 million)
· EBIT margin 6.4% (2014: 6.2%)
· Basic EPS 7.2 pence (2014: 7.8 pence)
· Cash generated from operations £10.7 million (2014: £13.0 million)
· Exceptional items before tax £nil (2014: £1.0 million)

Operational Highlights

· FMCG division sales declined 11.2% to £62.7 million (2014: £70.6 million)
o UK Commercial sales declined 12.4% to £54.7 million (2014: £62.4 million):
- Good growth in many grocery, convenience and high street accounts offset by underperformance in two key accounts
- Grew market share in Seasonal Specialities to 7.3% (2014: 6.4%)
o International sales grew 19.9% to £5.4 million (2014: £4.5 million)

· Retail division reported 2.2% continued like-for-like growth (2014: 2.1%)
o Outstanding Christmas with December like for like sales growth of 7.8%
o On track to close around 20 stores during the financial year, towards creating a sustainable store portfolio of between 180 and 200 stores
o Consumer Direct sales increased 11.4% to £4.5 million (2014: £4.1 million)
o Franchise sales decreased 12.0% to £4.5 million (2014: £5.1 million).

StockMarketWire.com
Thorntons said a 145p a share cash offer by Ferrero International has been recommended by both companies' boards. The deal values Thorntons at about £111.9 million. The offer would be made by Ferholding UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Ferrero.

Ferholding has today acquired the entire holding of Crystal Amber, the entire holdings of John von Spreckelsen (and his wife) and part of the holding of Hotchkis & Wiley in Thorntons at the Offer Price.

These holdings together total 18,707,841 Thorntons Shares, representing approximately 27.14 per cent. of the issued share capital of Thorntons as at the date of this announcement.

Ferholding has also today acquired the entire holdings of certain of the Thorntons Directors who hold Thorntons Shares (being Paul Wilkinson and Jonathan Hart) and the majority of the holding of Michael Killick, another Thorntons Director, at the Offer Price.

Ferholding has also acquired the Shares held by Jonathan Hart's wife and children. These holdings together total 1,901,800 Thorntons Shares, representing approximately 2.76 per cent. of the issued share capital of Thorntons as at the date of this announcement.

Ferholding therefore owns 29.90 per cent. of the total issued share capital of Thorntons as at the date of this announcement.

In addition, Ferholding has received irrecovable undertakings to accept or procure the acceptance of the Offer from Hotchkis & Wiley in respect of its remaining 2,921,411 Thorntons Shares, representing approximately 4.24 per cent. of the issued share capital of Thorntons as at the date of this announcement.

Ferholding has also received irrevocable undertakings to accept or procure the acceptance of the Offer at the Offer Price in respect of the holdings of certain other of the Thorntons Directors (being Diana Houghton, Barry Bloomer and Martin George) who hold Thorntons Shares.

These holdings together total 155,084 Thorntons Shares, representing approximately 0.22 per cent. of the issued share capital of Thorntons as at the date of this announcement.

In aggregate, therefore, Ferholding holds or has received irrevocable undertakings to accept or procure the acceptance of the Offer in respect of 23,686,136 Thorntons Shares, representing approximately 34.36 per cent. of the issued share capital of Thorntons as at the date of this announcement, including those holdings of the Thorntons Directors (and/or those of their close family as relevant).