Chocolate intake dips but profits steady

CHOCOLATE firm Thorntons missed out on the high street festive boom after reporting a "disappointing" sales fall for the past quarter.

But its decision not to resort to the hefty discounting seen the year before helped boost profit margins and offset the sluggish store performance.

Thorntons made total sales of 80.7 million in the three months, down 2.4 per cent on a year earlier.