J2O maker Britvic ups dividend and vows to buy back £75m worth of shares as pre-tax profits soar
Soft drinks conglomerate Britvic today announced plans to launch a £75m share buyback scheme and upped its dividend by 20 per cent, after posting “strong” results for the six months running up to 31 March 2022.
The Tango and J2O maker said its pre-tax profits increased 48.7 per cent to £45.8m, after its revenues jumped 18.5 per cent to £719.3m.
The drinks seller said sales of its single serving “immediate consumption” drinks are now ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
The firm said it had cut its debt to earnings ratio from 2.8x to 2.2x, as it increased its dividend from 6.5p per share to 7.8p per share.
Looking forwards, the firm said “current geopolitical uncertainty” is likely to hit consumer spending and increase inflation.
Britvic chief executive Simon Litherland said: “I remain confident however that we will continue to successfully navigate the headwinds, thanks to our portfolio of leading brands, strong customer relationships, smart revenue management capability and the resilience of our supply chain and our people.”
“This will enable us to maintain our positive momentum, progress our key performance metrics and strategic priorities, and continue to create value for all our stakeholders.”