Sweet-toothed lovers helped confectionery retailer Thorntons recover from a lacklustre Christmas with burgeoning sales in the run-up to Valentine's Day.

After falling sales over the Christmas period, Thorntons said like-for-like sales in the two weeks in the run-up to February 14 rose by 6.3 per cent compared with four per cent in the same period last year.

Reporting its interim results, Thorntons said it had delivered higher sales, better margins and a strong cash flow in the six-month period to January 11 after improving its product range, sharpening retail disciplines and widening the distribution of its products.

Chief executive Peter Burdon said: "We are increasingly confident that this strategy will provide good profit growth while adding to the strength and recognition of the brand name."

Following a period of falling sales, Thorntons launched a strategic review to try to improve prospects after reporting a collapse in full-year profits of more than 40 per cent in September 2000.

The firm decided to slow down the opening of new stores and divert money into marketing and product development to get a better return on its assets.

In the last half year, total sales were £104.7 million, a 2.3 per cent rise against the same period last year.

On a like-for-like basis, sales were up by 1.6 per cent, although they fell over the Christmas period.

At the bottom line, pre-tax profits rose by 10.1 per cent in the period to £10.9 million.

The interim dividend was maintained at 1.95p.