Britvic profits rise 6% in first four months

Maker of 7UP and Robinsons squash, Britvic, saw profits rise more than 6% in the opening four months of the year despite tough trading conditions. Earnings climbed to £64.7m (€90.68m) on the back of continued disciplined cost management.

Earnings before interest tax and amortisation have improved by 60 basis points this year and by 140 basis points over the last two years.

As well as driving an increase in earnings, the company also decreased its debt pile during the opening months of the year and continues to invest in the business, chief executive Simon Litherland said yesterday.

“Despite the challenging market conditions we have delivered double digit earnings growth, continued to improve our margin and further reduced debt.

“Importantly, we continued to increase investment behind our brands, our innovation and marketing capability and in our international business unit, to drive further revenue and profit growth.

“We have made significant progress executing our strategy which will continue to create sustainable value for shareholders. While we expect trading conditions to remain challenging, guidance for the current year is unchanged,” Mr Litherland said.

Towards the end of the half year, Britvic also launched new products including J20 Spritz and a range of products from its French division, for mixing with hot drinks, alcohol, and water.

The group sold over 1 billion litres of soft drinks, a decline of 0.3% on the previous year. With average realised price declining by 0.5%, the group’s revenue was down 0.7% compared to the first half of 2014, on a constant currency basis.