International sales provide some fizz for Britvic

SOFT drinks group Britvic – which has operations in Solihull and Tamworth – has seen a rise in revenue, largely on the back of its performance internationally.

In a Q3 interim management statement covering the 12 week period to July 5, Britvic revealed group revenue was £322.3m, an increase of 1% on last year.

“This represents a solid performance in challenging trading conditions,” the firm said.

Britvic’s UK revenue actually by declined 0.8% but revenue from its operation in France was up by 7.1% and international revenue in total was up by 6.8%.

During the quarter the firm benefited from the recent launches of J20 Spritz, Teisseire and the re-launch of Robinsons.
 
Simon Litherland, chief executive officer, said: “I am pleased to see the business back into revenue growth this quarter following the investment we have made in our brands and innovation launches in each of our markets.

“We have also executed some fantastic marketing campaigns, including Robinsons 80-year association with Wimbledon and the Teisseire sponsorship of the Tour De France.
 
“Despite continued challenging market conditions, we remain confident of delivering further profitable growth in 2015, in line within our guidance range of £164m to £173m, and we continue to invest behind the long-term drivers of growth.”

Britvic has also announced that it has acquired Brazilian drinks company Empresa Brasileira de Bebidas e Alimentos SA (Ebba) for £120.8m.

Ebba is the number one supplier of liquid concentrates (dilutes) and the number two supplier of ready-to-drink nectar drinks in Brazil.

Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at Finspreads, said Britvic´s announcement that it will pay £114m for Brazilian soft drinks maker Ebba will have failed to divert investors’ attention away from the “lack-lustre” third quarter results.

However, she said access to the Brazilian market, the sixth largest soft drinks market in the world, where sales are growing at around 14% per year, could provide plenty of opportunity for Britvic to invest not only in the leading brands that already exist there but to also introduce new brands. 

“This acquisition looks like a good match for Britivic, which has been on the lookout for an acquisition for some time and the aim to double Ebba´s earnings by 2020 is a challenging but reasonable goal,” she said.