Choc horror: Thorntons' warning

Thorntons' shares melted by more than a third to an all-time low today after it warned on profits for the third time this year and said it only expects to "break even".

The 100-year-old retailer blamed "continued weakness in consumer sentiment and high level of promotional activity" for its latest profit downgrade.

Thorntons - which plans to close up to 180 shops over the next three years - issued warnings in February and May and is struggling against intense competition from the upmarket chocolatier Hotel Chocolat and the big supermarkets. However, some industry experts believe that Thorntons' chocolates have not kept up with the changing taste buds of Britons.

Shares in the retailer crashed by 13p, or 34.2%, to 25p, the lowest since it floated in 1988.

Thorntons, which has 579 shops and makes its chocolates in Derby, now believes its results will be "around break even" for the 53 weeks to June 30, 2012, compared with City forecasts of pre-tax profits between £3 million and £4 million before today.

The figures show the mountain chief executive Jonathan Hart, ex-managing director of Caffè Nero, has to climb.