AG Barr’s sales add fizz to the drinks market
SOFT drinks maker AG Barr yesterday revealed a 12.3 per cent increase in profits for the six months ending 28 July, which said it remains confident on the long term growth of its drinks.
The company – whose drinks brands include Irn-Bru and Tizer – saw revenues rise to £128.7m from £121.6m in the same period last year.
“We have made good progress across all fronts in the year to date. We successfully navigated the challenging market conditions in the early part of 2013 and have accelerated our growth in the second quarter,” said AG Barr chief executive Roger White.
“Our brands, assets and people are all performing well, benefiting from continued high levels of investment. We remain very confident in the long term growth potential of our brands and business.”
The company reported £3.4m in exceptional costs for the half year, £2m of which are attributed to professional and legal costs directly related to the company’s failed merger with Britvic that fell apart in July.
The planned tie-up between the two soft drinks giants was thrown into disarray after the Office of Fair Trading referred the merger to the Competition Commission for a six month investigation.