Britvic profits wiped out

Drinks company Britvic has announced today that its second-quarter operating profit was down from £4.3m (€4.88m) to £0 in Ireland.

Irish revenues were down 13.8% due to the weakness of sterling.

The news was better for the company on a global basis however, with profit before tax up 16.3% (up 1.4% to £7.2m (€8.18m) post-exceptionals), with EPS growth of 13.1%

Group Revenues up 6.3%, an acceleration of growth in the second quarter. Interim dividend per share of 4.1p, up 7.9% on last year

"Britvic has again delivered strong increases in revenue, profit before tax and earnings against the backdrop of very challenging economic conditions," said chief executive Paul Moody.

"Our brands have continued to outperform in each of our key markets.

"Revenues in our second half so far continue in line with our first half performance and we have also started to see modest improvements in the British soft drinks market.

"These trends combined with our proven sales and marketing strategies as well as disciplined cost management mean that we are very well-placed to drive continued group earnings growth and cash generation. All of this gives us confidence in meeting full-year expectations."