Cake Box's revenues sweetened by new store openings

(Sharecast News) - Cake Box on Monday reported double-digit growth for annual revenues and profits after new franchise store openings in its first year as a listed company.The cake retailer recorded profit before tax of £3.8m for the year ended 31 March, for an increase of 14% compared to the year before, as revenue jumped by 33% to reach £16.9m but still fell short of the £17.1m forecast earlier in 2019.The year saw the addition of 27 new franchise stores, expanding the AIM traded company's network to 113 franchise stores, while average franchise store revenue increased by 18%.A final dividend of 2.4p per share was proposed, bringing the total dividend per share up to 3.6p following a maiden interim payout of 1.2p.Sukh Chamdal, chief executive of Cake Box, said: "In the year Cake Box celebrated its 10th birthday, I'm delighted to be announcing such a strong set of maiden full year results as a listed business. In just a decade, we have developed a unique proposition and a much-loved national brand which has significant potential for significant further expansion, as we look to introduce more customers to our fabulous fresh cream cake offering."The company also said it was pleased with results since the start of the new financial year and added that it has opened four new stores, with two more expected to open before the end of first quarter as Cake Box continues to target an average of six new franchise stores per quarter.Cake Box's shares were up 3.41% at 172.18p at 1046 BST.