Thorntons has avoided the weather-related excuses favoured by fellow retailers, as the chocolatier announced that strong sales during the coldest Easter on record will boost profits more than expected.

Easter had been "satisfactory", it said, adding that when combined with "similarly satisfactory" results from Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, it should see annual profits beat expectations of £3.1m.

Thorntons, which has struggled in recent years with too many stores, is halfway through a three-year turnaround. It is focusing on supplying supermarkets, with sales of chocolate to retailers such as Tesco and Sainsbury's increasing, as sales in its branded stores have fallen.

Two years ago the chocolatier had nearly 400 stores; by next year it will have just 200.

The chief executive, Jonathan Hart, wants to shift Thorntons away from being a Christmas and Easter business, to having a year-round offering. However, the holidays are still vitally important to chocolate makers, as underlined by a recent survey by Consumer Analysis that showed seasonal sales comprised 13% of annual confectionary sales.

It also found that only 12% of people initially thought of Jesus at Easter, compared with 62% who immediately thought of chocolate.

Thorntons added: "We remain cautious of the prevailing economy and its continuing impact on consumer expenditure."

Investors seemed to be impressed with the announcement, as shares closed up 8.7% to 75p, having hit a 23-month high of 78.8p two weeks earlier.