Britvic posts strong growth but sees challenges ahead in 2014
Soft drinks producer Britvic has posted strong growth for the year ended 29 September 2013. The maker of Tango and White's Lemonade saw revenue climb by 4.4 per cent to £1.3bn and brand contribution growth across all business units. Net profit rose by eight per cent to £108m while the company reduced its debt by 10 per cent.
Britvic believes it is on track to deliver on its strategic objectives including £30m of cost savings per year by 2016. Last July the soft drink maker ran into trouble after it had to withdraw its popular children's drink, Fruit Shoot, from shelves due to faulty bottle caps.
Fruit Shoot market share in the UK has since returned to pre-recall levels and contributed to a solid performance. There is further room for optimism after the conclusion of an agreement with PepsiCo American Beverages (PAB), which will lead to Fruit Shoot being distributed in 41 states during 2014.
Chief executive officer, Simon Litherland, said:
We have delivered a strong financial performance in a year of significant change for our business. We have grown revenue and price in all of our business units and gained market value share, resulting in operating profit growth in excess of 18%.
While we anticipate that the consumer environment will remain challenging in 2014, trading in the new financial year is slightly ahead of a strong first quarter performance last year and we are confident of delivering EBIT in the range of £148m to £156m for the full year.