Britvic reports sales decline

Ballygowan and Miwadi maker Britvic reported weaker sales today after Britain's washout start to the summer depressed demand for thirst quenching drinks.

The group's revenues were up 0.7% on a year ago in its home market between April and July, down on the previous six months after a 13.3% slide in volumes for its portfolio of still drinks, which include Robinsons.

Ireland Q3 revenue was down 15.3%. The company blamed this performance on the "continued tough macro-economic conditions, the poor weather in Ireland and a strong prior year comparative of +8.6%".

“During the third quarter, the soft drinks markets in GB and Ireland were adversely affected by the poor weather in June, whilst the comparative period in 2010 was strong reflecting both good weather and the football World Cup,” said chief executive Paul Moody.

“Nevertheless, Britvic delivered revenue growth across the GB, International and France business units, although Ireland showed a decline.

“The actions we have taken to proactively manage ARP and margins against such challenging market conditions underpin the Board’s current confidence in meeting its expectations for the full year.

“However, we continue to be cautious about the challenging trading conditions and the impact of consumer sentiment in our largest markets as we move into the final quarter of the financial year.”

Britvic launched a double concentrate version of Robinsons over the period but found that factors outside its control dented its trading performance.

It said in an update: "The weather in June had a negative impact on promotional activity around the Wimbledon tennis event, which is an important focus period for the Robinsons brand."

The group said volumes of fizzy drinks were down 1.6% as it faced up to the impact of promotional activity by rivals.

However, higher average prices meant revenues from the carbonates sector were still 4.4% higher than a year ago.

The figures were also impacted by comparisons with strong trading in the comparative period of 2010, when demand was boosted by the football World Cup and good weather.