Britvic hails 'standout'  flavoured Ballygowan sales for boost ahead of key summer period

The company said that in Ireland, Ballygowan 'Hint of Fruit' secured €6m in sales, representing a share of the flavoured water drinks market here of 18%, a year after its launch.

The boss of Britvic has hailed the "standout" sales of flavoured Ballygowan waters in Ireland, and for Pepsi Max and Tango in Britain, for boosting profits at the soft drinks maker and supplier. 

Britvic  — which along with Ballygowan owns outright MiWadi and Robinsons, and distributes Pepsi, 7UP, and Lipton Ice Tea in Ireland and Britain under license with PepsiCo —  chief executive Simon Witherland also said in its half-year earnings report, the company had "mitigated" escalating costs inflation in 2022.   

The London-listed shares, which closed 1% higher, have now gained 21% since the start of the year to value the drinks firms at almost £2.4bn (€2.75bn). 

"Our continued focus on lower calorie, healthier drinks has resulted in some standout performances, including Pepsi Max and Tango in Great Britain as well as Ballygowan ‘Hint of Fruit’ in Ireland," Mr Witherland said.

Pre-tax profits rose 18.5% to £54.4m as sales increased 10.4% to £794m in the first six months of its financial year, that runs to the end of March. 

Mr Witherland said that Britvic had "successfully mitigated the impact of the challenging inflationary environment", adding it planned new marketing campaigns over the summer months.  

The company said that in Ireland, Ballygowan 'Hint of Fruit' secured €6m in sales, representing a share of the flavoured water drinks market here of 18%, a year after its launch. It also hailed a contract with Flogas to source wind power for its Newcastle West plant. 

In its main British market, Britvic said its early moves in the first half of the latest financial year to increase prices had paid off and had mitigated double-digit inflation in its costs of the previous year. 

"We have seen a sequential improvement in volumes as we moved onto Q2, returning to volume growth and building momentum as we head towards the key summer trading period," it said of British sales at the half-year stage.

However, in France, "trading has been more challenging in the highly competitive retail market", the company said, citing "difficult" talks over pricing and having faced "double-digit inflation with minimal price benefit to mitigate the impact". Britvic owns the Tesseire, Pressade, and Moulin drinks.     

It said its performance was mixed in its "growth market" of Brazil, after its margins had been hit.            

Britvic said consumers were still buying soft drinks despite the cost of living crisis. 

"While all companies have faced significant economic uncertainty and considerable inflationary pressures, the soft drinks category continues to demonstrate high levels of resilience. Soft drinks are an affordable staple, offering great quality and value choices for all occasions," it said in its outlook.