SALES of chocolates made in York are booming as Nestlé Confectionery continues to outperform its UK rivals.

The company today announced its 2010 results and said it had been a “good performance” in a challenging economic climate.

It said sales of its flagship brand KitKat rose by three per cent last year, Aero increased by eight per cent and Milky Bar by 14 per cent. Strong promotional programmes had been a factor, for example for Milkybar Raisin & Biscuit. It said Nestlé Confectionery had outperformed the market, growing its share for the third consecutive year and making it the fastest growing of the big three UK confectionery firms.

Paul Grimwood, chairman and chief executive of Nestlé UK and Ireland, said: “We invested more than ever in our portfolio of iconic brands and, by doing so, we grew share across our key product categories.

“While the outlook for 2011 remains challenging, we have strong plans in place across all our businesses to continue to win share.”

Paul Bulcke, chief executive officer of Nestlé, said the company had delivered another year of strong top and bottom line growth in 2010, outperforming the market.

He said: “We increased investment in our brands, our operations and our people.

“We continued to drive efficiency and effectiveness in both developed and emerging markets while at the same time accelerating innovation, serving well over a billion consumers a day across the world.

“We are starting 2011 with continued momentum, well placed to face uncertainties ahead, including volatile raw material prices.”

The company said across Western Europe, growth in all major markets was driven by strong innovation and was achieved despite difficult economic conditions and a tough competitive environment, and Great Britain had had a particularly positive year.