LONDON_British chocolate and gum maker Cadbury PLC on Wednesday upgraded its outlook as it reported a 7 percent rise in third-quarter revenue _ proof, it said, that it does not need to be taken over by a conglomerate like Kraft to deliver results.

Cadbury, which has rejected a takeover approach from Kraft Foods Inc., said it expected full-year revenue growth to be in the middle of a range between 4 percent and 6 percent. In its first-half report on July 9, the company had forecast revenue growth at the lower end of that range.

Cadbury also forecast an improvement of 1.35 percentage points in its profit margin for the year, up from the half-year guidance of a 0.80 to 1.00 percentage point increase.

"This puts the ball firmly back in Kraft's court, and is exactly what Cadbury shareholders would have hoped for," said Graham Jones, analyst at Panmure Gordon & Co. He called the third-quarter update "hugely impressive."

"We think this statement, plus confidence expressed about 2010 and 2011, significantly reduces the chance of Cadbury being acquired on the cheap and as such we raised our target price from 860 pence to 900 pence," Jones said.

Cadbury shares were up 1 percent at 806.5 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange

"Shareholders again have reason to cheer," said Keith Bowman, analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.

"Cadbury management is clearly fighting hard, while rumors of interest from Unilever continue to build," Bowman said.

Kraft faces a Nov. 9 "put up or shut up" deadline set by London's Takeover Panel to make a firm offer for Cadbury or walk away for six months.

Kraft's initial approach, disclosed in September, valued Cadbury at $16.7 billion, or about 745 pence per share.

"We continue to take the view that Kraft may need to increase the cash element of its offer and probably raise the value of the total offer to (around) 850 pence per Cadbury share to stand a chance," Charles Stanley and Co. said in a research note circulated Tuesday.

Cadbury said third-quarter revenue from chocolate rose 7 percent on a constant currency basis, candy rose 11 percent and gum 4 percent.

Revenue from South America was up 18 percent and Asia-Middle East-Africa produced a 14 percent gain.

"The strength of our operating performance continues to underpin the Board's confidence in both our growth prospects and the potential for creating further, material shareholder value as a pure play standalone confectionery business," said Cadbury chairman Roger Carr.

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On the Net: http://www.cadbury.com

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