27th Jul 2015 08:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Premium tonics and mixers maker Fevertree Drinks PLC on Monday posted a big rise in pretax profit for the first half of 2015 as the group's revenue increased substantially.
Fevertree said its pretax profit rose to GBP6.6 million in the six months to the end of June, up from GBP1.1 million a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP24.1 million from GBP14.9 million. Fevertree said its UK sales revenue rose by 62% in the first half, with US revenue up 69%, Europe revenue up 61%, and Rest of World revenue rising by 42%.
In the UK, Fevertree said it benefited from investments made in its on-trade sales team, which resulted in some notable listings secured in the first half, while it said the strong momentum seen in its US business in 2014 continued, particularly boosted by the popularity of the Moscow Mule cocktail, which helped drive ginger beer sales.
In Europe, despite taking a hit from the weak euro, Fevertree said its result was boosted by importers taking large orders in June ahead of the summer, though its underlying performance was also robust. In its Rest of World operations, revenue was helped by Fevertree creating a dedicated team focused on driving growth in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
Fevertree said it will pay a dividend of 0.78 pence per share. The company only floated on the London Stock Exchange in November last year, so this is its first interim payout. For 2014, the company paid a final dividend of 0.3 pence per share.
"We are delighted to report that the group's strong performance throughout 2014 has continued into the first half of 2015. We achieved a 62% increase in revenue with all four of our territories continuing to perform strongly and the results were underpinned by solidly maintained margins and a strong balance sheet," said Fevertree Chief Executive Tim Warrillow.
"The group remains ideally positioned to benefit from the ongoing global trend to greater premiumisation and look to the future with confidence as we continue to deepen our penetration in our existing markets whilst exploring new market opportunities," Warrillow added.
Fevertree shares were up 0.6% to 368.06 pence on Monday morning.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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