Britvic sales up 11.5% after carbonates boost

By Matt Atherton

- Last updated on GMT

Britvic reported an 11.5% rise in sales in its first-half trading update (Flickr/Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)
Britvic reported an 11.5% rise in sales in its first-half trading update (Flickr/Department for Business, Innovation and Skills)

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Britvic has reported an 11.5% rise in sales to £756.3M in its first-half interim results, driven by a £3.5M boost in British carbonates sales.

The UK drinks manufacturer welcomed its start to the 2017 financial year, after its pre-exceptional earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation increased 6.7% to £73.6M. The British carbonates division – including Tango and R Whites – increased volume sales by 13.2Ml across the 28 weeks to April 16.

Britvic also reported a 9.2% rise in adjusted earnings per share to 18.9p. Profit after tax, however, was down 4.9% to £38.6M, due to its £55M acquisition of Brazilian drinks firm Bela Ischia​ in March.

The firm’s ceo Simon Litherland said: “Britvic has delivered a strong first-half performance, driven by organic revenue growth in all our markets and successful management of input cost inflation.

‘Commercial plans’

“We have continued to make progress delivering our strategic priorities and have exciting commercial plans for the second half of the year. I am confident that we will deliver full-year performance in line with market expectations.”

The sales rise came despite increased production costs, driven by currency fluctuations, Britvic said.

Britvic chief financial officer Mathew Dunn said: “Brand contribution margin decreased as a result of adverse mix, impact of foreign exchange on raw materials and increased product costs impacting ahead of revenue management actions.”

Expanding its Rugby site

The manufacturer was on-track to complete its three-year £240M investment programme by 2019, it said. The investment included renovating and expanding its Rugby factory, and new production lines at its London and Leeds sites.

Britvic was confident of meeting expectations for its full financial year, despite the “well-documented”​ challenges manufacturers were facing, it said.

Litherland said: “We have again demonstrated in the first-half our ability to deliver our strategic priorities in the face of a challenging external environment. As well as producing a good first-half financial performance, we have continued to progress on our long-term growth drivers, and we are excited by the opportunities that we have in our core markets and internationally.

“With a portfolio of market leading brands, strong marketing plans for the important summer period and clear strategic priorities for the balance of the year, we remain confident of meeting market expectations for the full year.”

Meanwhile, in March Britvic renewed its contract​ for third-party logistics firm Wincanton’s warehouse in Leicestershire.

Britvic results – at a glance

  • Revenue up 11.5% to £756.3M
  • Profit after tax down 4.9% to £38.6M
  • Pre-exceptional earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation up 6.7% to £73.6M

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