Manufacturer’s of Magners cider, C&C Group, have reported results in line with guidance on the back of poor weather and increased competition.

Underwhelming summer sales data for the Magners cider brand in Britain has led Davy Stockbrokers to downgrade its profit outlook for the product’s Irish parent, C&C by €3m.

Irish drinks group C&C would make an ideal acquisition target for larger international rivals SABMiller or Carlsberg, according to London industry analyst Phil Carroll of Shore Capital.

C&C could expand its Magners cider brand to the Nordic markets — specifically Sweden and Finland — within the next three years, although group chief executive, John Dunsmore, said that the move is still at the “drawing board” level.

BRITVIC has expressed satisfaction with its Irish division, even though operating profits here fell from £4.3 million (just under €5m) to zero in the half-year to the end of March.

Drinks group Britvic today said it planned to spend £170m (€249m) on some of Ireland’s leading brands, including Ballygowan bottled water.

The Magners cider brand in Britain has again lifted profits at drinks group C&C.

ACCORDING to Citigroup, C&C Group has recently started test marketing its Magners cider brand in two Continental European cities, Barcelona and Munich, to assess whether consumer demand warrants a national brand rollout to be supported by high levels of marketing spend.

C&C is eyeing Munich as its second continental launch market for Magners cider, according to reports.

Drinks manufacturer and distributor C&C has announced a €200m capital investment programme to double its cider manufacturing capacity in Clonmel within an 18-month timeframe.

The runaway success of the Magners cider brand in the UK is underpinning a 25% jump in turnover at drink and snacks company C&C.

DRINKS and snack food group C&C is to beef up its presence in Northern Ireland by spending €3 million on a new distribution and warehousing facility in Belfast.

A new sponsor has been found for the popular North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.