16th May 2018 11:36
LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group PLC said on Wednesday it swung to a profit in its recently ended financial year, due to a combination of revenue growth and a significant drop in exceptional costs.
C&C, which makes Bulmers and Magners cider, reported a pretax profit of EUR72.2 million for the year that ended in February, swinging from a loss of EUR62.9 million the year before, after a significant drop in exceptional costs to EUR7.0 million from EUR150.1 million. The high exceptional costs in financial 2017 represented an impairment of intangible assets in North America.
Revenue however, fell by 4.9% to EUR813.5 million from EUR860.5 million due to competitive pressure in Ireland and adverse currency movements. C&C also cited one-off impacts from new distribution terms for the beer of Anheuser Busch Inbev NV, which led to the loss of several wholesaler accounts.
C&C saw total volume growth for the year at 0.3% for its three core brands of Bulmers, Magners and lager Tennent's, down from 2.6% the prior year. The Super Premium and Craft portfolio - which includes Heverlee beer and Menabrea - grew volume by 41%.
C&C increased its total dividend to 14.58 euro cents, up 1.7% from 14.33 cents the year before. In addition, the group said that trading in the months of March and April were in line with expectations, and remained confident in its outlook for the current year.
"2018 was a significant year of progress for the group, both in terms of strategic development as well as improved underlying performance. While the trading environment in our key markets of the UK and Ireland remained challenging, our branded portfolio returned to volume and revenue growth, outperforming the broader LAD market," said Chief Executive Officer Stephen Glancey.
Shares in C&C were down 0.2% at EUR3.06 on Wednesday.
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