28th Mar 2006 07:01
Barr(A.G.) PLC28 March 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 28 March, 2006 A.G.BARR p.l.c. PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 28th January, 2006 A.G.BARR p.l.c. the soft drinks group announces its preliminary results todayfor the 12 months to 28th January 2006. Key Points • Profit on ordinary activities before tax and exceptional items increased by 10% to £17.9 million (2005 - £16.3 million). • Turnover increased to £128.8 million, up 1.2% (2005 £127.2) • An increased final dividend of 22.0p per share to give a total dividend for the year of 31.75p per share, an increase of 10.4% over the previous year. • The IRN-BRU brand grew sales value by 5%. Market share gains were made across the UK and Ireland. • Strong new product pipeline now in place for 2006/07. • Cash flow remaining strong with £31 million cash at bank. • Scottish supply chain restructuring programme on target for both costs and savings - planned to be fully complete by December 2006. Announced separately today • Disposal of surplus Scottish sites completed - £6.75 million consideration. • Plans to improve manufacturing cost profile with investment in Cumbernauld and Mansfield manufacturing sites and the planned closure of Atherton site by early 2007. Commenting on the results Chairman, Robin Barr, said: "I am delighted to report once again that our business has performed strongly,despite the considerable challenges faced by it in line with most other consumergoods companies. As well as delivering this excellent performance we are alsoinvesting in both assets and brand development to ensure our future success." Commenting Roger White, the Chief Executive said: "This is an excellent financial performance particularly against the backdrop ofa competitive market place, input cost inflation and considerable structuralchange across much of our business operations. We have now had four consecutive years of double digit profit growth whichrepresents further evidence of the consistent progress the business is making. In the second half our strong sales execution delivered ahead of expectations. Today we have also announced our plans to make further significant investmentsin our production facilities at Cumbernauld and Mansfield at the same time as weplan the closure of our Atherton site. On completion these changes will give usthe operating platform and cost profile to ensure that we can continue tocompete successfully in our key markets. Sales in the first 7 weeks are 2% ahead of the same period last year" For more information, please contact: A.G.Barr Tel: 0141 554 1899 Buchanan Communications Tel: 020 7466 5000Roger White, Chief Executive Tim Thomson / Nicola CronkIain Greenock, Finance Director Notes to Editors: A.G.BARR p.l.c. is a long established soft drinks manufacturer with its headoffice in Glasgow. As the country's leading independent branded carbonated softdrinks manufacturer, the company enjoys a wide portfolio of soft drinks,including IRN-BRU, Diet IRN-BRU, IRN-BRU 32, Findlays Water, Orangina, Tizer, D&B and the Simply Range. As the company's flagship brand, IRN-BRU continues to go from strength tostrength in the UK; in Scotland the brand remains firmly as the number onegrocery brand whilst in England and Wales it is steadily working to increase itsshare of the carbonate market. Following its re-launch last year, Diet IRN-BRUis performing exceptionally well, having connected with an increasing number ofcalorie-conscious consumers through a fully-integrated marketing campaign. The most important strategic product development to date from BARR is IRN-BRU32. Created as a 'refreshing and delicious energy drink' in response to marketdemand, IRN-BRU 32 is the first major extension to the IRN-BRU brand since thelaunch of Diet IRN-BRU 26 years ago and represents a £3 million investment.Utilising the main brand's secret ingredients but with the added intensity ofcaffeine and taurine, the brand encourages 'Pure Mental Stimualtion' and is thefirst member of the IRN-BRU range to be introduced from launch at a UK-widelevel. Barr has also increased its adult portfolio of drinks to include: • Orangina (a long term franchise agreement with brand owner Cadbury Schweppes, which now includes the Snapple brand) • Fruits and Squeeze (from the St. Clements Originals range) • And, in response to communication with schools and parents, the Simply range - soft drinks made from natural ingredients with no artificial colours, flavourings and no added sugar. Additional company strengths that BARR continues to capitalise on is itsregional brands such as D'N'B, the official soft drink to the Rugby FootballLeague, KA and Red Kola. Chairman's Statement Review of results An excellent performance during the second six months enables me to report thatprofit on ordinary activities before taxation for the year to January 2006 was -excluding net exceptional items of £0.5 million - £17.9 million compared withthe restated figure of £16.3 million for the previous year, an increase of10.0%. The exceptional items represent the initial part of the costs related tothe major reorganisation of our Scottish operations net of a small profit on thesale of a property. Turnover for the year to January 2006 was £128.8 million anincrease of 1.2% over that achieved the previous year. Basic earnings per share were 65.06p compared with 62.61p for the previous yearand, as a result, your directors are pleased to recommend a final dividend of22.00p per share to give a total dividend for the year of 31.75p - an increaseof 10.4%. These results represent a strong performance during a period of change bothwithin the UK soft drinks industry with increasing activity in the "Good forYou" sectors and also across our own business with the current major investmentin a new infrastructure for Scotland. People I am pleased to have this annual opportunity on behalf of shareholders to thankall our employees for the continuing contributions which they make towards ourCompany's success. The support of everyone across the Company is particularly important at a timeof major change across our operations. Defined benefit pension schemes Shareholders will have noted the substantial recent exposure in the media ofproblems within other companies' defined benefit schemes and our own two schemesshare the same challenges notwithstanding their closure to new entrants. Their total deficit at January 2006, calculated in accordance with the technicalrequirements of IAS 19, was £16.2 million but would have exceeded the January2005 calculation of £17.0 million if the company had not made a special paymentof £2.3 million in January 2006 to reduce the level of the deficit. We currently await the formal triennial actuarial valuations for our schemes asat 1st November 2005 which are being prepared by our pension advisors.Subsequently your directors will agree with the trustees of the schemes both aplan to eliminate the deficits and the appropriate level of future benefitsaccruing within the schemes and the funding thereof. Prospects The current financial year will see the completion of our major infrastructureproject in Scotland and this, together with potential changes within ourmanufacturing operations during the following year, should produce thesignificant improvements in efficiencies which will enable us to competesuccessfully in tomorrow's soft drinks market place. Soft drinks continue to be a growth category in the UK but consumers areincreasingly demanding a wider range of products from which to choose. Our ownmarketing and innovation plans are designed to enable us, through eitherin-house development or appropriate partnership agreements, to present asuitably balanced portfolio to the market. We will not however in extending our portfolio lose focus on our traditionalbrands and, in particular, our Irn-Bru brand which remains the core of ouroperations and for which further future development can be anticipated. Robin Barr, Chairman Chief Executive's Statement Investing for Growth Financial performance I am pleased to report that this year has seen further improvement in ourfinancial performance with pre tax profit, before exceptionals, up 10% from£16.3m to £17.9m the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in profitbefore tax. Our total sales grew from £127.2m to £128.8m despite difficult marketconditions, reflecting our continued strategy of delivering long-termsustainable sales growth through brand building. We maintained our efforts toincrease sales of our key brands through improved executional capabilitiesrather than relying on increasing consumer promotions to drive top-line revenue.We have once again improved our operating margins from 12.3% to 13.2%. This hasbeen achieved through a combination of consistent control of operating costs andthe continued improvement to our operating platform, in particular thedevelopment of further, on-going, supply chain efficiencies. In addition to thiswe increased our prices in the first half of the year in particular response tothe significant and sustained increases in our key input costs - fuel, packagingand utilities which have all risen significantly over the course of the year. Group cash flow was strong and we ended the year with £31.4m cash . This wasdespite the 300% increase in capital investment during 2005/06. The capitalspend was in-line with our forecasts and in the main related to theconsolidation of our Scottish supply chain and selling activities into a singlesite at Cumbernauld. Good progress has been made on this key project over thesecond half of the year and we are on plan to meet our cost, timing and savingstargets for the project. Strategy We continued to execute our strategy to improve the overall long-term returns ofthe business. This strategy has seen the continued focus on the development of: - Core brands and markets - Portfolio development - Route to market - Partnerships - Efficient operations The market Consumers set the pace and tone of our fast moving market place, making choicesregarding both brands and products. This year has seen good growth in the totalsoft drinks market; value sales increased by 5%, as measured by Nielsen.However, on the same measurement basis the total carbonates market has beenflat. The other flavoured carbonates sector was 8% down in value over the twelvemonths but has shown some signs of improvement in the second half. However, on aregional basis the performance is somewhat different - in Scotland totalcarbonates value grew by 4% and other flavoured carbonates were up by 1%. Softdrinks in total remain a great market, although we have to ensure we are playingin growth areas on both a product and a geographical basis. We have raised the pace of change across the last twelve months to focus heavilyon building a sustainable portfolio of brands and products which meet consumerschanging needs. Our conviction that value growth offers more long-term benefit than volumeremains intact. Once again, we have seen growth in the pence per litre (ppl)achieved from our core brands. As measured by Nielsen our ppl in carbonates hasincreased by 6% over the last twelve months in contrast to our main competitorswho have at best been flat. This reflects the combination of our highest everlevel of marketing spend and more efficient promotional activity across thedifferent channels we supply. The continued investment behind the Phenomenalcampaign for IRN-BRU on both sides of the border and the first "above the line"spend on Orangina for many years has resulted in consumers enjoying theseproducts more often - and importantly at less promotionally driven prices. At the same time as driving organic growth across the soft drinks category weremain ideally positioned to act swiftly should opportunities arise to grow ourbusiness through acquisition. Investing in infrastructure Our well-publicised plans to consolidate our Scottish supply chain onto a singlesite at our existing Cumbernauld location - representing a capital investment of£17m - is well underway. The specific costs of this investment are now almostfully locked down and on budget; the programme is on time and will see the siteoperational and all other relevant sites, including our current HO, consolidatedbefore the end of 2006. The project will yield ongoing operational costimprovements of circa £2.5m, as well as significantly improving our ability todeliver excellent service to all customers. It will also provide a world-classoperating platform for future profitable growth. Core brands and markets Our success is built on understanding and satisfying consumers' needs. We havespent more time than ever listening to what our consumers want and have reactedquickly to their demands. Local tastes and preferences have worked strongly inour favour across the last twelve months; we have built on our strongtraditional regional presence in Scotland, the North West and North East ofEngland, Yorkshire and the Midlands. We also looked increasingly towards GreaterLondon as a growth area with the further development of our adult soft drinksrange including Orangina, Snapple, Lipton Ice Tea and new developments in the StClements Originals brand. IRN-BRU has performed very well with gains in market share in Scotland andEngland. However, Diet IRN-BRU following the brand re-launch which featuredbespoke advertising and new packaging design has seen significant market sharegrowth of 9%. IRN-BRU as a brand has further significant growth opportunities yet to come, notleast the extension into the energy drink market with the launch in March 2006of IRN-BRU 32. This is the first full-scale IRN-BRU launch since Diet IRN-BRUwas launched some 26 years ago. Much planning and investment has gone into itsdevelopment. This national launch has found a great deal of support across allour traditional customers and it is our first real opportunity to build asustainable presence in the on trade sector. It is planned to support the brandwith a £3m marketing campaign comprising TV, press, radio and outdoor media plussignificant sampling and point-of-sale activity. The stimulation energy drinkssector, worth £160m a year in the UK represents a real growth opportunity for2006. During 2005/06 we targeted Ireland as an opportunity for growth for IRN-BRU. Forthe first time, we used specific IRN-BRU TV advertising on Ulster television.This investment, accompanied by an increase in the executional focus wedelivered through our sales agency partners across Ireland, has seen ourbusiness grow by 15% and 13%, North and South respectively, over the last twelvemonths. We have not been immune from the difficult trading conditions in the otherflavoured carbonates market. Tizer has suffered from declining volumes,especially in the Multiple grocery trade where we have neither matchedcompetitors on promotional weight or pricing nor established the appropriatebrand equity required to sustain sales growth. Consequentially, there has been a 36% decline in Tizer volume share as measuredby Nielson, this has translated into a similar revenue decline. This highlightsthe need to deliver the correct combination of great product, appropriate brandpositioning and suitable price/promotion to deliver our strategy. As aconsequence the Tizer brand will receive increased promotional support in 2006/07 and it will be fully reviewed as we seek to deliver the correct propositionfor the future success of this brand. We re-established our strategic commitments to the Orangina brand in May withthe signing of a new long-term franchise agreement. The on-going operationalrelationship with the Schweppes team is now progressing well with the commitmentof both parties to a new value-driven long-term brand strategy for Orangina.This commenced in the second half of the year with new TV advertising and apromotional strategy aimed at rebuilding the premium credentials of Orangina.The impact of this has stemmed the downward trend and we anticipate positiveprogress next year. We also looked to leverage our strength in the distinct regional markets inwhich we operate by using our range of strong local brands - D'N'B; KA; RedKola; Returnable Glass Bottles and Barr Flavours. They are all winning locallywithin specific geographical areas across the UK. When this regional portfoliois coupled with our excellent customer service and distribution reach, itdemonstrates how we deliver local selling solutions successfully and profitably. Portfolio development Last year we also increased the pace of development at Barr, investing acrossthe total soft drinks category. We developed offerings in core carbonatessectors and in the "Good For You" sector, as well as in drinks aimed at adultsand drinks primarily for kids and schools. The launch of the St Clements Originals brand, designed to carry severalproducts in the premium adult fruit based segment, saw sales of over 2 millionbottles of St Clements Squeeze in 2005. The St Clements Originals brand willlaunch a further number of products across 2006, commencing with St ClementsFruits in March 2006. The brand will receive full marketing support across 2006/07 to ensure that it gains real consumer momentum across the growth area offruit drinks. Difficulties faced in the supply of soft drinks to schools were well documentedin the media over the last twelve months. We responded with the redefinition andre-launch of the Simply portfolio, which is now no added sugar. Included in thisre-launch were the additions of Simply Water, a pure spring water and SimplyPure, a 100% fruit juice available in 200ml tetra cartons. In addition all Simply Citrus products contain no added sugar and are nowsweetened with apple juice. Our relationships within the schools sector hasnever been stronger and our new product portfolio gives us a real opportunityfor future growth. Our portfolio development includes new products in some of the highest growthsectors within the soft drinks category. To be successful with this innovationrequires both sales support and marketing spend. We are therefore conscious thatwe must thoroughly research and develop our plans prior to committing resourcesand cash to them - we have done this during the course of 2005/06 and we hope tosee the successful results in 2006/07 and beyond. Route to market Soft drinks success can often be benchmarked against performance in the impulsemarket - accordingly we have continued to invest behind improvements in ourImpulse Route To Market (RTM). Whether in hardware, such as chillers andmerchandising units, or in executional support on the ground for the keychannels, we have continued to push investment into improving our customer andconsumer offer. What differentiates us is delivering the category unique branded solutions,which meet consumers' needs across many different parts of the UK. This is donein partnership with customers and has seen our business through Cash and Carryand direct to store grow over the year. This growth has been accompanied by thesuccessful integration of our high levels of customer service with an increasein supply chain efficiency - helping to improve our margins in this competitivemarket. The most visible changes to our RTM have been in Scotland, where the closure ofsales locations at Irvine and Wishaw took place in 2005 as a precursor to theconsolidation planned throughout 2006. Our state of the art distributionfacility at Cumbernauld is scheduled for completion before the end of the 2006calendar year, giving us the opportunity to improve service levels and thecapacity to grow our business profitably into the future. Partnerships The development of further successful partnerships across our business iscrucial to meeting our goals. The pace of development of new products and theformation of discrete portfolios requires us to work successfully with others.As already described we have made good progress with the Orangina brand. Inaddition we have signed a long-term franchise agreement with Schweppes inJanuary 2006 to sell and market Snapple in the UK. Snapple, a still fruit baseddrink, offers real scope for development as we take the brand from its currentlimited distribution to a more national, but targeted, distribution level - inparticular in the premium foodservice/cafe bar sector. We have further developed longstanding relationships with Rubicon, thespeciality juice business, and entered a selling agreement to compliment ourexisting contract packing relationship with this fast growing business. TheRubicon brand is now available to Barr customers through our direct to storesystem. The development of the Lipton Ice Tea brand by brand-owner Unilever hascontinued at a pace. We have, as previously reported, simplified ourrelationship with them and now focus our sales effort purely on the impulse andfoodservice channels. While this has seen some larger customers handed back toUnilever during the last twelve months, with a consequential revenue drop, wehave seen our margins on the retained business improve. Our international business development is dependant on effective partnerships ineach of the target markets and has gained momentum for the longer term over thelast 6 months. Our partnership with Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) for IRN-BRU inRussia has continued to develop - a new 6 year deal has been negotiated withPBG. IRN-BRU is manufactured, distributed and sold throughout Russia from a baseof seven PBG factories. Sales revenue over the course of the last year wasmarginally down in Russia as a consequence of local executional and operationalissues, however these issues have now been addressed by PBG and we expect thebrand to return to strong growth in 2006/07. Further growth opportunities for IRN-BRU in Eastern Europe are now availablewith the successful completion of a market trial in Poland during the last sixmonths. This trial with our Polish partner, Optimum, focussed on the Warsaw areaand has proved that IRN-BRU has growth potential in this market. There will be afull launch during early 2006, which will see IRN-BRU drive to attainsignificant distribution and awareness across the major urban areas of thislarge country. Further afield, IRN-BRU has attracted increasing interest in Australia. Forexample in Queensland, where some targeted investment in marketing has createdmomentum and sales have gone from zero to over 210,000 litres over the lasttwelve months. We hope to grow more in this distant but promising market overthe course of 2006/07. Efficient operations Last year we invested over £12m in capital projects. £7.2m alone was spent onthe supply chain project at Cumbernauld, which will deliver very substantiallong-term efficiency benefits. We have, however, not neglected other areas ofthe business, where a large number of operational projects have been concludedto enhance our customer offering and improve our operating efficiency. Once again, good progress was made in inventory management, with a furtherreduction in stock of 10%. This reflects the enhancements to central planningand local stock control. In the pursuit of improved efficiency we changed anumber of our logistical processes. For example, the central picking of ordersfor our direct to store service in England and Wales has reduced local inventorylevels by 17% over the last twelve months. Across our factory base we have improved our ability to manufacturenon-carbonated products and products containing higher levels of fruit juice.Development of our asset base will continue to require capital over the comingyears as we transform our business from a traditional "pop" business into a fullservice soft drinks company with a broad portfolio of brands and products. Thisinvestment will depend on the speed and direction of our portfolio development.For the time being, we are employing the dual tactics of investing in our owncapability where we have the potential volumes to justify that investment - inparallel we have started an outsourcing programme for products that do not meetour volume hurdles or require investment in technology, which, at this stage inthe product life cycle, is not justified. Our teams are continually seeking opportunities, both big and small, to improveour overall operating efficiency. People Even through significant change, the continued commitment and efforts to improveperformance by our teams across the business has made all the difference. Onceagain, the continuous improvement programmes initiated by individuals and smallteams have proved that those doing the job know how to improve performancebetter than anyone else. We have made good initial progress across the year towards our goal of linkingindividual performance to reward and improving personal development planning. Itis aimed to roll the processes we have developed out across the wider businessover time. The importance of training and development in improving performance wasreinforced by our increased investment in our commercial teams; they have beeninvolved in our first full commercial skills development programme which saw acomplete range of specific training and development modules rolled out acrossthe year. The accelerated level of change in the business requires support forindividuals, teams and whole sites. This challenge has been met by the increasedlevel and quality of communication throughout the entire company - and willcontinue to be a key area of focus as we progress. Outlook The investments we are making across the business are addressing the changes weare experiencing and anticipate in our market. Consumers will continue to valueand enjoy our great products and brands, but in order to grow we must offer awider and more diverse portfolio. We must continue to invest in both our brandsand the growth of our portfolio; to do this we must deliver the operatingefficiency gains we have planned. 2006/07 will be a tough year of considerablechange throughout our business, but we will be all the stronger from ourefforts. Our programme of change will ensure that we are fit to match thelong-term challenges of our competitive but growing market. Roger White, Chief Executive A.G.BARR p.l.c. Consolidated Income statement for the year ended 28th January, 2006 The following are the unaudited results for the year to 28th January, 2006. TheBoard recommends the payment of a final dividend of 22.00p per share which ifapproved by the shareholders will be posted on 7th June, 2006. The totaldistribution proposed for the year amounts to 31.75p per share (2005 -28.75p) Consolidated Income Statement Group Restated 2006 2005 £000 £000 Revenue 128,760 127,222Cost of sales 63,398 63,729Gross profit 65,362 63,493Net operating expenses 48,422 47,864Operating profit before exceptional 16,940 15,629itemsExceptional items 533 -Operating profit 16,407 15,629 Finance income 1,557 1,288Finance costs (583) (630)Profit on ordinary activities before tax 17,381 16,287Tax on profit on ordinary activities 5,128 4,585Profit attributable to equity 12,253 11,702shareholders Dividend per share paid 29.25 p 26.25 pDividend paid (£'000) 5,628 5,108Dividend per share proposed 22.00 p 19.50 pDividend proposed (£'000) 4,280 3,795 Basic earnings per share 65.06 p 62.61 pFully diluted earnings per share 63.87 p 60.73 p Record date: 5th May, 2006 Ex-div date : 3rd May, 2006 The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitutestatutory accounts. The financial information for the year ended 29th January,2005 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year which have beendelivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors have reported on thoseaccounts and their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement underS237 Companies Act 1985. This financial information has been restated inaccordance with IFRS. A.G.BARR p.l.c. Statements of Recognised Income and Expense for the year ended 28th January, 2006 Group Company Restated Restated 2006 2005 2006 2005 £000 £000 £000 £000 Actuarial (cost) / gainrecognised on (2,235) 476 (2,235) 476defined benefit pensionschemesDeferred tax relating todefined 671 (143) 671 (143)benefit pension planNet income recognised directlyin equity (1,564) 333 (1,564) 333 Profit for the period 12,253 11,702 11,913 11,625 Total recognised income andexpense for the period 10,689 12,035 10,349 11,958 Attributable to equity 10,689 12,035 10,349 11,958shareholders A.G.BARR p.l.c. Balance sheets As at 28th January, 2006 Group Company Restated Restated 2006 2005 2006 2005 £000 £000 £000 £000Non-current assetsProperty, plant and 34,932 37,315 34,031 36,794equipmentInvestment in subsidiaries - - 205 205Deferred tax assets 5,777 5,600 5,777 5,600 40,709 42,915 40,013 42,599 Current assetsInventories 8,274 9,172 8,188 9,069Trade and other 29,546 20,991 29,208 20,405receivablesCash at bank 31,412 34,958 31,300 34,796Assets classified as heldfor sale 937 - 937 - 70,169 65,121 69,633 64,270 Total assets 110,878 108,036 109,646 106,869 Current liabilitiesTrade and other payables 22,083 22,166 22,630 22,370Current tax 1,962 2,550 1,880 2,530 24,045 24,716 24,510 24,900 Non-current liabilitiesDeferred income 611 619 611 619Deferred tax liabilities 5,030 4,975 5,009 4,960Retirement benefitobligations 16,248 17,044 16,248 17,044 21,889 22,638 21,868 22,623 Capital and reserves attributable toequity shareholdersCalled up share capital 4,865 4,865 4,865 4,865Share premium account 905 905 905 905Own shares held (4,298) (3,100) (4,298) (3,100)Share options reserve 1,416 826 1,416 826Retained earnings 62,056 57,186 60,380 55,850 64,944 60,682 63,268 59,346 Total equity and 110,878 108,036 109,646 106,869liabilities A.G.BARR p.l.c. Cash flow statements As at 28th January, 2006 Group Company Restated Restated 2006 2005 2006 2005 £000 £000 £000 £000 Operating activitiesProfit on ordinary activitiesbefore tax 17,381 16,287 16,953 16,186Adjustments forInterest receivable (1,557) (1,288) (1,550) (1,288)Interest payable 583 630 583 630Depreciation of property,plant and equipment 5,756 5,559 5,486 5,390Share options costs 299 295 299 295Gain on sale of property,plant and equipment (215) (17) (215) (17)Government grants writtenback (8) (9) (8) (9)Operating cash flows beforemovements in working capital 22,239 21,457 21,548 21,187 Decrease in inventories 898 1,246 881 1,216Increase in receivables (1,473) (756) (1,585) (576)Increase in payables 255 200 890 52Decrease in retirementbenefit obligations (3,031) (565) (3,031) (565)Cash generated by operations 18,888 21,582 18,703 21,314 Tax on profit paid (4,876) (4,433) (4,856) (4,394)Net cash from operatingactivities 14,012 17,149 13,847 16,920 Investing activitiesProceeds on sale of property,plant and equipment 514 215 470 172Purchase of property, plantand equipment (12,029) (2,959) (11,763) (2,753) Interest received 1,557 1,288 1,550 1,288Interest paid (583) (630) (583) (630)Net cash used in investingactivities (10,541) (2,086) (10,326) (1,923) Financing activitiesPurchase of own shares (3,149) (390) (3,149) (390)Sale of own shares 1,760 473 1,760 473Dividends paid (5,628) (5,108) (5,628) (5,108)Net cash used in financingactivities (7,017) (5,025) (7,017) (5,025) Net (decrease) / increase incash (3,546) 10,038 (3,496) 9,972 Cash at beginning of period 34,958 24,920 34,796 24,824 Cash at end of period 31,412 34,958 31,300 34,796 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Barr (A.G.)