Premium British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat (HOTC:AIM), announced a 14% increase in revenues to £132m for the year ended 30 June, slightly ahead of consensus estimates according to Reuters, giving the shares an early morning lift of 4% to 369.6p.
Five per cent of the growth was attributable to the opening of 16 new locations, two of which were in the US. The company also signed a joint venture in Japan with two new sites in Tokyo.
Chief executive Angus Thirlwell 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’.
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A slew of new product innovations are ‘generating lots of excitement’ including Vegan Chocolate-Dipped Lollies, Choc Shakes and Billionaire’s Sundaes.
Management expect full year profit before tax to be in line with expectations, which according to Reuters is £13.4m, while earnings per share (EPS) are expected to be 9.35p, implying a multiple of 39.5 times.
