23rd Jan 2014 09:03
LONDON (Alliance News) - Scottish soft-drinks maker AG Barr PLC Thursday said it maintained strong trading momentum in the final quarter of its financial year ending January 27, and it anticipates revenue for the year of around GBP252 million, up 6.1% on the year earlier.
In a pre-close trading update, the FTSE 250 soft-drinks producer known for brands such as Irn Bru, Orangina and Tizer said it remains on course to meet full-year expectations, and expects its trading performance in the fourth quarter to be ahead of the total UK soft drinks market, despite tough year-on-year trading comparatives.
AG Barr said that total sales revenue in the fourth quarter was up around 5.5% on the prior year.
The soft-drinks group said that while its underlying margins improved versus the prior year, an increase in marketing spend and promotions capped further margin growth during the quarter.
Looking ahead, the group said it expects the tough competitive market conditions to continue.
AG Barr said it performed well over the important Christmas period, in a highly competitive soft drinks market, supported by its new production and distribution facility at Milton Keynes, north of London.
The group said that over the period, its free cashflow generation and balance sheet have remained strong, with the expected year-end net debt position better than previously anticipated.
AG Barr said it intends to announce its full-year financial results on March 25.
Its much bigger soft drinks rival Britvic PLC is expected to released a trading statement for the first quarter on January 29.
Shares in AG Barr were down 0.25% at 611.00 pence per share on Thursday morning, after having initially fallen to 600.00p.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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