Easter egg sales put Thorntons in a sweet position

Chocolatier Thorntons confirmed it was on the track to recovery after a “satisfactory” Easter set it up to beat city profit forecasts.

The company, which has been battling to turn its fortunes around after a slump in profits last year, said: “When combined with similarly satisfactory results from both Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, the board now anticipates that the pre-exceptional profit before tax for the 52 weeks to 29 June 2013 will be ahead of the current market expectation of £3.1 million.

“However, we remain cautious of the prevailing economy and its continuing impact on consumer expenditure.”