Dairy Milk firm Cadbury today said UK sales rose 11% as consumers showed little sign of giving up on chocolate treats in the current turmoil.

The figure for the quarter to September 30 was fuelled by demand for Cadbury's relaunched Wispa chocolate bar and two additions to its Dairy Milk range.

Price rises in an effort to offset material costs were also a factor as worldwide sales rose by 6% in the third quarter of the financial year. That was slightly better than market expectations, causing shares in the FTSE 100 Index company to rise by 6%.

Panmure Gordon analyst Graham Jones said: "The indulgent appeal of its products and low price points give us confidence that both sales and margins can progress, despite more challenging economic conditions in many developed markets."

Cadbury said commodity cost inflation was likely to remain at between 5% and 6% for 2008, before hitting 6%-8% next year, mainly due to cocoa costs.

It said it was in the process of implementing further price increases in most of its major markets in order to cover the cost pressures. In July, Cadbury said it had increased prices by up to 4% over the past year.

The company added today: "We are in a period of unprecedented global financial turmoil and it is not possible to gauge with certainty what effect the most recent market turbulence may have on both trade customer and consumer behaviour.

"However, despite these increased headwinds we participate in a resilient category with a strong business model and continue to expect a successful outcome for the year."

The company, which demerged its drinks business earlier this year, has increased its focus on its core brands, including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Trident chewing gum and Halls cough sweets.

Cadbury sold 1.2 million Wispa bars in one week after the product's relaunch in September. The return of the product, which followed a consumer campaign on social networking sites, was accompanied by the launch of a new range of Dairy Milk bars - Cranberry & Granola and Apricot Crumble.

Today's improved UK performance also reflected a significant recovery in candy after the same quarter last year was impacted by floods at the company's factory in Sheffield.

Cadbury also announced the loss of 250 jobs, including senior management, under changes to its worldwide operation in a bid to "de-layer" the firm and cut costs.