Revenues fall 11% at Britvic’s Irish operation

FIRST-HALF revenues at the Irish operations of British soft drinks manufacturer, Britvic fell by over 11% – making it the only division of the group to show a decline.

Britvic Ireland – established three years ago by Britvic acquiring C&C’s soft drinks business for€250 million – generated revenues of £89.7m (€104.6m) for 28 weeks to April 11; down from £101.1m for the same period last year.

First-half operating profits, for Ireland – which had fallen from £4.3m to zero in the opening six months of last year – showed some recovery at £1.3m.

Group chief executive Paul Moody said that the modest return to profitability in Ireland was driven by the company’s synergies programme and cost-cutting measures, given that “trading conditions in Ireland remain difficult, with consumers focused on price”.

“During the period, we saw sustained market growth in Britain and recent conditions across the wider market have continued to demonstrate elements of recovery. However, visibility in both Britain and Ireland – beyond the short term – remains limited,” he added.

Each of Britvic’s other divisions generated revenue increases – including the group’s wider international business. The group, as a whole, generated a 4.6% year-on-year rise in revenue to £505.3m for the first half.

Group operating profit was up by 27.6%, on the same period last year.