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London - British chocolate maker Thorntons estimated a 51% growth in full-year pretax profit, saying its UK commercial channel returned to double-digit percentage revenue growth in the fourth quarter.
Shares in the company rose as much as 8%, making the stock one of the top percentage gainers on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Working capital
Thorntons, which sells its products in its own stores as well as to supermarkets, also said its lenders have agreed in principle to provide an increased revolving credit facility of £75m running through October 2018.
"This increased facility will provide headroom for the increased working capital requirements associated with serving third-party retailers," Investec Securities analyst Nicola Mallard said in a note.
The company estimated pretax profit before exceptional items to have risen to £7.1m for the year ended 28 June, in line with market expectations, from £4.7m a year earlier.
Own stores
Analyst Peter Smedley of Charles Stanley Securities said the estimate "underpins our confidence that Thorntons continues to successfully navigate the recovery phase of its transformation strategy."
Thorntons reported a 7.6% drop in third-quarter sales in April, hurt by early spring deliveries in the second quarter and lower UK commercial sales.
