Britvic profits bubble higher as low sugar market drives growth

For the 28 weeks ended 14 April, the soft drinks producer achieved a profit before tax of £45.2m, an increase of 8% over the comparable period the year before, as revenue jumped by 5% to £769.2m with improvements from its GB stills and GB carbs segments providing the lion's share of growth.

Revenue from the stills segment climbed by 5% to £136.5m following growth of the J20 and Robinsons brands, while GB carbs revenue jumped by 11% to £326.7m as sales of low/no sugar drinks variants such as Pepsi MAX, 7UP free and variants of Tango and R Whites climbed.

Simon Litherland, chief executive of Britvic, said: "As we anticipated, the soft drinks levy has benefited our portfolio, accelerating the consumer trend towards our heartland of low and no sugar brands. Pepsi MAX has generated more incremental retail value than any other cola variant, while the rejuvenation of the Robinsons brand continued to deliver both significant revenue and squash category value growth."

Revenue from Ireland grew by 5% to £90.6m but other international segments struggled, with French revenues down 6% at £125.3m and Brazilian revenues down 3% at £66.1m.

The FTSE 250-traded company upped its interim dividend by 5% to 8.3p per share, while cash and cash equivalents stood at £6.4m at the end of the period, down from £44.2m at the same point last year.

The period also saw progression of the company's business capability programme, with works on plants in London and Leeds completed as Britvic aims to streamline UK operations into a three-site network in order to improve efficiency and result in a material improvement in cash flow generation.

"Our transformational business capability programme is nearing completion and forms an important part of our broader commitment to building a more flexible and sustainable business model. In the second half of the year we have a range of exciting marketing and innovation plans, and I remain confident that we will achieve full-year market expectations," said Litherland.

Britvic's shares were down 0.40% at 934.28p at 0811 BST.