Britain's Cadbury, the world's biggest confectionery group, expects first-half sales growth of around seven per cent, but its strong start to this year will slow slightly in the second half as commodity cost rises bite.

The London-based group said on Thursday it was confident this year despite challenging economic conditions and further rises in the cost of raw materials in the second half.

Cadbury, which spun off its North American beverage business Dr Pepper Snapple last month, is expecting first-half growth above the top end of its 4pc to 6pc target range, after saying second-quarter sales growth is likely to be modestly higher than the 7 per cent growth in the first quarter.

It also said trading margins are expected to be ahead by 1.5 percentage points despite increased marketing spend, as it pushes up prices to offset rising commodity cost inflation.