Hotel Chocolat has posted “another strong” set of results, which chief executive Angus Thirwell attributed to offering its customers a “wider variety of sales channels”.
The specialist retailer posted a 14% increase in sales to £91.7m during the 26 weeks to December 29. Underlying EBITDA increased 7% to £18.5m, up from £17.3m the previous year.
During the period Hotel Chocolat opened nine new locations in the UK, two in the USA and three in Japan, which contributed to a three percentage point rise in sales growth.
Hotel Chocolat co-founder and chief executive Angus Thirlwell said: “This was another strong period for Hotel Chocolat. 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.
“The Velvetiser in-home hot chocolate system achieved strong growth, with our installed Velvetiser owner base showing great loyalty and enthusiasm for our widening library of flavours – with Tasmanian Mint, Habanero Chilli and Maple & Pecan hot chocolates becoming instant hits.
”Our VIP loyalty scheme continued to grow strongly and contributed to double-digit EBITDA growth from our physical UK locations.
“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.
”We are now making good progress with investments and upgrades in our supply chain, which will fully address these inefficiencies and increase our international and multichannel supply capability, ensuring we continue to deliver profitable growth.”
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