Hotel Chocolat revenues soar in half-year results

British chocolatier Hotel Chocolat has reported a 14% increase in revenues to £91.7m for the half-year period ended 29 December 2019.

The retailer said the strong sales growth reflected “continued brand appeal and ongoing product innovation”. It also opened nine new stores in the UK, bringing its portfolio to 125 sites across the country.

Additionally, underlying EBITDA increased by 7% to £18.5m, compared with £17.3m during the same period last year, and profit before tax was also up by 7% to £14.9m.

Angus Thirlwell, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hotel Chocolat, said: “This was another strong period for Hotel Chocolat. Our new store openings contributed three percentage points of the growth in the period, with the remaining balance coming from existing locations, digital and wholesale channels.

“While our new markets in the US and Japan are still in the early stages of development, consumer response to the brand is encouraging, sales are growing, and we believe we have a deliverable plan to achieve attractive returns.”

He added: “Our strong growth came from a wider variety of sales channels than in previous years, which led to some initial challenges in our supply chain.”