Finsbury Food sales rise, boosted by Disney's Frozen cakes

Finsbury Food, the bread and cake baker, served up higher interim sales thanks to an especially strong performance from cake, a good Christmas period and a recovery in export markets.In the six months to 27 December sales of £107.6m were up 24% from the same period in 2013.On a like-for-like basis, group sales rose 5.6% year-on-year. The improved sales were attributed to the acquisition of Fletchers, completed in October, which contributed £16m of revenue.The AIM-listed company claimed that an "especially strong season performance from cake" had boosted the bakery division 27.7% compared to a year earlier, with Disney Frozen cakes among the most popular.The 50%-owned joint export business finished the half stronger, resulting in flat sales versus the prior year and reversing the 3.1% decline reported for the first four months.Chief executive John Duffy said the Fletchers acquisition had shown "very positive signs" of growth and progress so far."In addition, our capital investment programme continues and has laid the foundation for the group's positioning in a market experiencing industry-wide pressures."These factors, along with the benefits of being a larger, more diversified specialty bakery group underpin our belief that the group is in a strong position for the year ahead."Shares in Finsbury Food were up 7.63% to 63.5p at midday on Monday.