LONDON (Alliance News) - Hotel Chocolat Group PLC on Tuesday reported "another year of significant progress", with the company recording solid annual profit and revenue growth.
For the 52 weeks to July 1, the chocolatier's revenue came in at GBP116.3 million, 11% higher year-on-year.
It opened 15 new stores in the UK and Ireland during the year, adding 6% to annual sales growth, while own website sales rose 14% year-on-year.
Pretax profit was GBP12.7 million, 13% higher on the prior year, while underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation increased 16% to GBP18.9 million.
Hotel Chocolat is paying a 1.1 pence per share final dividend, taking the year's total to 1.7p versus 1.6p a year before.
The firm said the weaker sterling brought cost pressures, but it managed to offset this by improving productivity and leveraging increased scale, it said.
Looking ahead, Hotel Chocolat hopes to keep a tight lid on costs, while new international markets offer the potential for "significant new avenues for growth".