Soft drinks maker Britvic posted a 15% increase in full year revenue and said it remains confident about trading for the year ahead despite the challenging economic backdrop.
The group, whose brands include Fruit Shoot, Pepsi, 7UP and Robinsons, said underlying pre-tax profit increased to £105.1m for the year to 2 October from £104.6m the year before. Total revenue rose 15.1% to £1.29bn for the year.
Paul Moody, chief executive commented, "The political, financial and social environment in which we operate will remain challenging, but we are confident in our ability to compete strongly and to deliver another solid set of results for the year ahead, in line with our expectations."
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Growth at its GB, France and International business units offset a weaker performance in Ireland. The Irish soft drinks market continued to decline with take-home market volume down by 2.2% while volume at the pub and club channel slumped 8.7%.
Britvic announced three significant agreements, including one with Pepsi to further distribute its Fruit Shoot brand to six US states.
A total dividend of 12.6p has been offered, bringing the full year dividend per share to 17.7p, up 6.0% on the previous year.
"This reflects the board's continuing confidence in the future prospects of the business, as well as the underlying cash generative nature of its activities," Britvic said.
--
cj
-
Rightmove: rental growth hits new high as landlords prepare for Autumn BudgetNews Rents are rising but higher levels of supply are limiting growth - is buy-to-let still worth it?
-
My 8% Nationwide regular saver has matured - what are my options?The building society’s popular 8% account is maturing for many savers. Should you stick with Nationwide or move to a competitor?
