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.

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.
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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)