29th Nov 2018 08:44
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed soft drinks maker Britvic PLC on Thursday reported a rise in profit for its recently-ended financial year, as revenue grew on increased sales volumes despite challenging conditions.
Shares in Britvic were up 7.0% at 838.00 pence on Thursday, the best performer in the FTSE 250.
For the year to the end of September, pretax profit rose 5.0% to GBP145.8 million from GBP138.8 million the year before, on revenue that grew by 5.1% to GBP1.50 billion from GBP1.43 billion.
Revenue growth was due to increased sales volumes and prices during the period, with 2.4 billion litres sold in total, up 1.6% from the prior year. The averaged realised price per litre was 60.5 pence, up 3.2% from the year before.
In the UK, Britvic's GB carbonate drinks segment remained the biggest contributor to revenue, rising by 10% to GBP610.6 million from GBP555.3 million the year before.
Britvic said the sales rise was led by Pepsi, and in particular its no-sugar MAX drink, followed by increased revenue from Tango and 7UP Free.
The GB still drinks business saw a return to growth in the period, as revenue rose by 4.2% on improved performances from the Robinsons and J20 soft drink brands.
All other regional divisions saw revenue growth except for France, where revenue declined by 4.3% due to a fall in sales volumes, and Brazil, which was down 2.8% on lower average prices.
Britvic declared a final dividend of 20.3 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 28.2p, up 6.4% from 26.5p the prior year.
The group said that during the year it had faced several challenges, including the introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy and disruption from carbon dioxide shortages in the UK and Ireland.
"We have delivered a strong performance in a challenging environment, with good revenue, margin and earnings growth. I am delighted that we have grown our stills brands, demonstrating that our investment in innovation and marketing is beginning to pay off. The investment in the transformational business capability programme is now nearing completion and is already delivering significant efficiency and commercial benefits. Free cash flow will increase materially in 2019 as capital spend falls back towards normal levels," said Chief Executive Simon Litherland.
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