Britvic’s Irish sales growth continues

The Irish operations of UK-owned soft drinks producer, Britvic, has seen its third consecutive quarter of revenue growth; with a 0.7% annualised rise evident in the 12 weeks to July 5; the third quarter of the company’s financial year.

“Ireland has now delivered three successive quarters of revenue growth. The adverse price/mix in our own brand revenue reflects both a competitive carbonates category and the continued growth of the lower value, plain water category,” the company said in a trading update yesterday.

A centralisising of its wholesale operations, here, and downsizing of headcount has helped Britvic Ireland stabilise in recent times after a number of troublesome years. The company significantly upped its presence in the Irish market, eight years ago, with the purchase of C&C’s former soft drinks division; giving it such well-known brands as Ballygowan, Club and Miwadi.

On a broader footing, Britvic yesterday reported group revenue of £322.3m (€457m) for its third quarter, up by 1% on the corresponding period last year. Ireland’s rise was complemented by a 7.1% annualised sales rise in France and by a 6.8% rise in its international wholesale division. The quarter saw a near 1% revenue fall in its core market of Britain.

Nevertheless, Simon Litherland – Britvic’s group chief executive – remains upbeat on full-year prospects.

“Despite continued challenging market conditions, we remain confident of delivering further profitable growth in 2015, in line with our guidance range of £154m-to-£173m, and we continue to invest behind the long-term drivers of growth,” he said.