J20 and Tango owner Britvic suffers slump in sales due to hospitality restrictions
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Soft drinks group Britvic, which owns J2O, R White’s lemonade and Robinsons, suffered a slump in sales in the first quarter due to restrictions on pubs, bars and restaurants.
The FTSE 250 firm said this morning that total revenue declined 9.8 per cent to £328.1m in the three months ended 31 December.
The Hemel Hempstead-based firm’s share price dropped more than three per cent this morning as it revealed the ongoing impact of the pandemic on trading.
Britvic’s sales in Britain dropped 4.1 per cent as at-home growth of 11.9 per cent was offset by a 32.5 per cent decline in out-of-home revenue due to restrictions on the hospitality sector in the run up to Christmas.
The company, which also owns Tango and 7up, said it expects performance to continue to be affected by Covid restrictions, and for trading to improve as lockdown measures are lifted.
Britvic chief executive Simon Litherland said: “Trading in the first quarter continued to be impacted by Covid-19 restrictions.
“Our portfolio of family favourite brands has however again performed well in the channels open to us, assisted by the additional flexibility we now enjoy as a result of investment in our GB supply chain.
“I remain very proud of how the Britvic team continue to respond with pace and agility to the changing landscape.
“While the introduction of the latest restrictions will undoubtedly impact this year’s results, we will continue to implement our strategy. We therefore intend to rebuild investment behind our brands, people and planet initiatives and stay focused on our medium and long-term potential.”