Britvic Full Year Profits Rise

29/11/07 Britvic has reported out-performance of the soft drinks market in all of its key categories with full year revenue growth of 3.7% to £702.5m. The beverage producer reported a resilient second half performance given the extremely poor summer weather and tough FY06 comparatives.

Paul Moody, Chief Executive commented: "We have out-performed the soft drinks market across all key categories, with a strong performance from our brands, despite difficult trading conditions in the second half of the year. The installation of our first aseptic line was a significant milestone and facilitated the major innovation launches of the year, Robinsons Smooth Juice and Fruit Shoot 100% Juice, both of which play to the natural agenda. We have maintained our focus on managing costs and driving efficiency, and the outsourcing of our secondary retail distribution network has been successfully implemented. While it is only three months since the completion of the Britvic Ireland acquisition, we are encouraged by the performance of the business.”

The combined effect of these actions has driven an 11% growth in profit after tax, a good result in a year of poor summer weather, he claimed. “The conditions in the soft drink market continued to be challenging at the beginning of our new financial year, reflecting the normal residual impact of a poor summer. However the fundamentals of the market remain strong and the market has shown modest growth in recent weeks. Against this background, Britvic has continued to grow its top line in the period since its year end, and we remain confident that we are well positioned for the year ahead, building on the recent acquisition of Britvic Ireland, further cost saving opportunities and a continued focus on the innovation pipeline," he concluded.