Interim revenue growth for Britvic but profits flat

SOFT drink supplier Britvic, which has major operations in the West Midlands, has seen revenues grow by 4% during the six months to April 17, driven by an especially strong second quarter.

The company, which produces brands such as Robinsons, J2O, Fruit Shoot and Tango, said it had also seen its international revenues growth 20.4% during the period.

Group revenues rose to £633.1m, compared with £505.3m this time last year, a rise of 26.1%, although group pre-tax profits were broadly flat at £27.7m for the period, which compares to £27.8m for the same period in 2010. Adjusted earnings per share fell 6.1% to 9.3p from 9.9p this time last year.

The company, which has operations in Shirley and Rugby, is proposing an interim dividend per share of 5.1p, an increase of 8.5% on the prior year. The board said this reflected its confidence in the future prospects of the business, as well as the underlying cash generative nature of its activities.
 
Paul Moody, Britvic chief executive, said: “Britvic has again delivered a solid set of results.  Our GB business performed well, with a particularly good second quarter, which saw revenues increase by 6.8% over the last year, and a strong performance in carbonates.  
“Our International business also grew strongly, driven by the successful roll-out of Fruit Shoot in Australia, and growth in our US presence.  Our management team in France has driven excellent revenue growth and remains focused on achieving the cost synergy targets.”  

He said market conditions remained challenging in Ireland, but the business had performed in line with expectations, and it had successfully completed a restructuring programme.

“We are focused on executing a strong programme of innovation and brand activity throughout the group and trading in the first few weeks of the third quarter provides the board with further confidence in the outlook for the balance of the year,” he added.

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