Despite the recession, Cadbury has enjoyed a 12% increase in UK sales.

People turning to chocolate during the economic downturn have boosted British confectioner Cadbury’s half year results.

Cadbury has attributed the 12% rise in UK sales to increasing demand for bars of chocolate and bags of sweets as more people are opting to stay at home during the recession.

The firm’s UK results benefited from excellent sales of Wispa chocolate bars and Giant Buttons.

Cadbury’s encouraging financial results for the UK goes someway in offsetting challenging conditions in Ireland and Europe.

The company’s pre-tax profits were £112 million, which is down from the £134m it made in 2008. However, after one-off costs were removed from the equation, the company’s profits are reported to have risen by 24% to £262m.

The increase in profit margins is due to efficient cost-cutting and reduced marketing costs, according to Cadbury.

Todd Stitzer, CEO of Cadbury, said: “We made good progress in the first half in challenging trading conditions. A strong chocolate performance and good growth in emerging markets more than offset a slow start in North America and continued softness in Europe.

“Looking forward for the year as a whole, given the continuing economic uncertainty, we reconfirm our guidance to deliver revenue growth around the lower end of our 4-6% goal range.”