31st Jan 2007 07:01
Britvic plc31 January 2007 Britvic plc ("Britvic") AGM Trading Update - 31 January 2007------------------------------------------------------------ At the Annual General Meeting to be held at 10.30am this morning, GeraldCorbett, Chairman, will make the following comment on the Company's trading forthe 12 weeks to 24 December 2006: "Britvic today reports that the improving trends highlighted at the time of thePreliminary Results continued through the balance of the first 12 weeks of thecurrent financial year, with total branded revenue growth of 4.8% compared withthe same period last year, comprising stills growth of 6.8% and carbonatesgrowth of 2.4%. In stills, Britvic out-performed the market during the period, reflecting goodperformances from J20 (attributable in part to the successful reintroduction ofthe Orange and Passion Fruit variant), Robinsons squash, and Fruit Shoot H2Owhich also further strengthened its position as market leader in the children'swater category. Britvic out-performed in carbonates as well, maintaining its volumes in a marketthat declined by 2.6%, primarily as a result of further market share gains byPepsi. In addition, Britvic's Average Realised Price increased, driven by ourcontinued focus on promotional spend, against a period last year when there wassignificant margin pressure. Britvic's International business achieved improved results, with distributiongains in both Sweden and Denmark. In the early weeks of 2007, our trading has continued in line with the trendseen before Christmas. While this is encouraging for carbonates, we remaincautious regarding the outlook for this category given the continued consumerfocus on health and well-being. Britvic is well placed to benefit from theanticipated growth in the stills market thanks to the strength of its existingbrands and product portfolio. Its position will be further improved by a numberof new product launches, such as Robinsons Smooth Juice and Fruit Shoot 100%Juice, scheduled for the second half of the financial year." For further information please contact: Investors:John Gibney / Jo Guano +44 (0)1245 504 330 Media:Britvic main switchboard +44 (0)1245 261 871David Lewis +44 (0)7834 963138Julian Mears +44 (0)7834 962542 Notes to editors---------------- Britvic is one of the two leading soft drinks businesses in Great Britain. Its broad portfolio of leading brands includes established names with high brandrecognition such as Robinsons and Tango and highly successful innovations suchas J20 and Fruit Shoot. Included within the portfolio are the Pepsi and 7UPbrands, which Britvic produces, markets, sells and distributes under itsexclusive appointment from PepsiCo which runs until December 2023. This brandand product portfolio enables Britvic to target and satisfy a wide range ofconsumer demands in all major soft drinks categories, via all available routesto market. Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements---------------------------------------------------- This announcement includes statements that are forward-looking in nature.Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties andother factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements ofthe Company to be materially different from any future results, performance orachievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Britvic