Shares in Cadbury, which last year demerged its US soft drinks business to increase profitability, rose 3 per cent to 528.5p on Wednesday after the group said full-year underlying margins rose 150 basis points to 11.9 per cent, putting it well on track to meet its goal of making profit margins in the “mid-teens” by 2011.

Ken Hanna, chief financial officer, said: “I am now hoping the market will see mid-teens margins as a credible objective.”