AG Barr sales lose fizz against Commonwealth games last year
Irn-Bru maker AG Barr announced yesterday that it plans to expand its state-of-the-art canning plant at Milton Keynes to support future expansion, after reporting a decline in first quarter sales.
The Tizer and Rubicon maker, which held its annual general meeting in Glasgow yesterday, said total group sales fell by 1.1 per cent in the 15 weeks to 9 May.
That compared with a strong performance last year when sales were boosted by the Commonwealth games in Glasgow.
The total soft drinks market recorded modest value growth of 0.7 per cent in the same period.
However, the group said it has a strong summer programme planned across all of its core brands and expects to see a return to sales growth in the second half of this financial year.
“We remain confident in our strategy and long-term prospects. We are on course to meet our expectations for the full year despite the challenging conditions across the market,” AG Barr said.
The Scottish firm opened a new £44m warehouse in Milton Keynes in December 2013 to help grow the business in England and Wales.
It now plans on spending £11m to extend the factory, which includes buying more land.