17th Oct 2007 07:00
Britvic plc17 October 2007 17th October 2007----------------- Britvic plc ("Britvic") Trading Update-------------------------------------- Britvic today reports robust trading in the 52 weeks to 30th September 2007,with branded revenue growth of 3.7% to £702.5m compared with the same periodlast year, driven by stills up 3.9% and carbonates up 3.0%. All figures in thisupdate are before any contribution from the recent acquisition of the softdrinks businesses of C&C Group plc (Britvic Ireland) on 29th August 2007. Branded revenue for the 24 weeks to 30th September 2007, the period since thelast update to the market, was down 1.5%, with stills down 0.3% and carbonatesdown 3.1%. This illustrates a resilient performance against the backdrop ofextremely poor summer weather and tough 2006 comparatives, which benefited froman above average summer and a high level of promotional activity based aroundthe football World Cup. In stills, Britvic continues its strong outperformance of the market in all ofits key categories driving revenue growth. J2O, Fruit Shoot and Robinsons squashconsolidated their position as market-leading brands, the latter performingparticularly well in large pack. The recent relaunch of Drench, as our take-homewater offering is showing very promising signs, while Pennine Spring, thethird-largest on-premise water brand, displays continued good growth. FruitShoot H20 continues to deliver a strong performance. The recently-launchedRobinsons pure juice brands, Smooth Juice and Fruit Shoot 100%, have performedin line with management expectations given the poor weather. In carbonates, Britvic has delivered a solid performance, driven by furthermarket share gains by Pepsi and a strong performance from 7UP. A continued focuson promotional effectiveness, especially over the summer, has, combined withimproved pack mix, led to a growth in average realised price over the period.The revenue performance has also benefited from distribution gains in thediscounters sector, mainly achieved during the first half of the year. Britvic recently completed, as planned, both the outsourcing of its secondaryretail distribution network to KNDL and the acquisition of Britvic Ireland.Neither transaction had a material impact on the group's performance during theperiod. Paul Moody, Chief Executive commented: "We have actively grown market share across our key categories, and our brandshave performed very well, despite the poor summer weather which presentedextremely difficult trading conditions for the soft drinks market. We havecontinued to deliver on our strategy of improving average realised price andmanaging cost, and consequently we expect to at least deliver our ambition ofincreasing operating profit margin by 10-15 basis points. We are confident that our profits for the year will be within the range ofcurrent market expectations, before any contribution from Britvic Ireland." The Company's next update to the market will be with its Preliminary Results forthe 52 weeks to 30th September 2007 on 29th November 2007. For further information please contact: Investors:John Gibney/ Craig Marks 01245 504 330 Media:Tom Buchanan / Muna Hamza (Brunswick) 0207 404 5959 Emma Peacock / Susan Turner (Britvic) 01245 261871 There will be a conference call today at 9.30am for investors and analysts withPaul Moody (Chief Executive) and John Gibney (Finance Director) and a furtherconference call at 2.30pm (9.30am Eastern Standard Time) today primarily for USinvestors and analysts. There will be an opportunity on both calls to askquestions. Access Number: Pin Number: -------------- ----------- 9.30am call UK +44 (0)20 8609 0205 566466# 2.30pm call UK +44 (0)20 8609 0205 566466# US 1 866 793 4279 A recording of both calls will be available for seven days. Redial Number: Conference Reference: -------------- --------------------- 9.30am call UK +44 (0)20 8609 0289 189075# US 1 866 676 5865 2.30pm call UK +44 (0)20 8609 0289 189078# US 1 866 676 5865 Notes to editors----------------- Britvic is one of the two leading branded soft drinks businesses in the UK andthe Republic of Ireland. The Company is the largest supplier of still softdrinks, the faster growing category in the soft drinks market, and the numbertwo supplier of carbonates. Britvic's broad portfolio of leading brands includes established names with highbrand recognition such as Robinsons, Tango, J20 and Fruit Shoot. Included withinthe portfolio are the Pepsi and 7UP brands, which Britvic produces, markets,sells and distributes under its exclusive appointment from PepsiCo which runsuntil December 2023 in Great Britain and 2019 in Ireland. This brand and productportfolio enables Britvic to target and satisfy a wide range of consumer demandsin all major soft drinks categories, via all available routes to market. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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