Thorntons, a manufacturer of confectionery and other sweet foods, has reported a decline in first-quarter sales with weak performance by both FMCG and retail divisions
In its first quarter trading update for the 14 weeks up to and including 4 October, total sales declined 11.9% from last year to 41.4m.
The timing of orders in UK commercial channel were to cause fluctuations as Thorntons changes into an FMCG business.
FMCG sales dropped 12.8% to 20.8m reflecting fluctuations in order patterns in UK commercial channel. UK commercial sales declined 16.4% although the brand remained strong with market share gaining over the period, while international sales increased 20.8%.
Retail sales declined 10.9% to 20.6m. Like-for- like sales decreased 3.7%, reflecting a continuation of subdued consumer sentiment and weakness in footfall seen since Easter.
Franchise sales dropped 19.1%, while consumer direct sales increased 3.2%.
Thorntons chief executive Jonathan Hart said, "We remain confident of improving EBIT margin further and maintaining positive profit growth for the full year, in line with market expectations driven by strong annual sales growth in our UK Commercial channel."
