The Derbyshire-based firm has been shutting down high street stores to focus on its online business, closing 36 shops in 2012 and 12 in the first half of 2013.

Thorntons said that, thanks to actions taken in the last two years, full-year profit would be ahead of the current market consensus of 4.6 million pounds.

Shares in Thorntons, which sells its products in its own stores as well as to supermarkets in Britain, are up 140 percent so far this year, compared to the broader FTSE AllShare which is up 123 percent.

The firm's pre-tax profit fell 79 percent in 2012 to 850,000 pounds.

(Reporting By Christine Murray; Editing by Neil Maidment)