Final Results

Barr(A.G.) PLC
29 March 2004


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             29 March 2004


                                A.G.BARR p.l.c.

                              PRELIMINARY RESULTS

A.G.Barr p.l.c. the Scottish based manufacturer of soft drinks including the
popular Irn-Bru, Tizer and Orangina brands, announces its preliminary results
today for the 12 months (53 weeks) to 31st January 2004.

Key Points

•   Profit on ordinary activities before tax increased by 13% to £13.8
    million (2003 - £12.2 million).

•   Turnover increased 4.4% to £125.2 million (2003 - £120 million).

•   An increased final dividend of 17p to give a total dividend for the
    year of 25.5p, an increase of 10.4% over the previous year.

•   Strong margin improvement across core brands following management
    operational review.

•   Senior management succession planning and review completed.  Effective
    February 04, Robin Barr became Chairman and Roger White was appointed Chief
    Executive.  Jonathan Kemp joined the business from Procter & Gamble in 
    November 2003 as Commercial Director.

•   Continued strong investment in long term growth of Irn-Bru has produced a 
    5.5% increase in sales.

•   Findlays Natural Mineral Water, Lipton Ice Tea and Simply Citrus Brands 
    although a relatively small part of the portfolio performed extremely
    well during the high temperatures experienced during the summer of 2003.


Commenting on the results Chairman, Robin Barr, said:

'During what has been a year of change within the business I am delighted to
report a significant increase in profit.  The fine summer weather of 2003
provided a strong market in the first half of the year although conditions were
softer in the second half.  Tight control of our costs across the business did
however enable us to achieve an improvement in margins over the full year.'


Commenting Roger White, the Chief Executive said:

'Over the last year we have focused our efforts on building a strong platform
for future business growth.  During the last twelve months we have strengthened
our organisation, rebuilt our margins and maintained our position in our core
markets against strong competition.  We are now in a position to build on this
and move into a period of further growth.

Business performance for the first eight weeks of the current financial year is
encouraging and in line with our plans.'

For further information:


A.G. Barr

Robin Barr/Roger White                                Tel: [phone]
Buchanan Communications

Tim Thompson/Nicola Cronk                             Tel: [phone]

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT



Review of Results

I am pleased to report that profit on ordinary activities before taxation was
£13.8 million for the 53 weeks to January 2004 - an increase of 13% over the
previous 52 weeks.  Tight control of costs throughout the year enabled us to
maintain the improvement in margins achieved during the first half of the year
even though the marketplace became somewhat softer subsequent to the excellent
summer.  Turnover for the year to January 2004 was 41/2% higher than the
previous 52 week figure.

Earnings per share on issued share capital were 49.90p for the year to January
2004 compared with 43.78p for the previous year.  This was after charging an
increased cost of £800K for additional pension contributions during the period.
It is anticipated that in future this increase will become c. £1-1/3
million until the next valuation.

Your Directors are pleased that this improvement together with the Company's
strong cash position has enabled them to recommend an increased final dividend
of 17p per share to give a total dividend of 25.5p for the year, an increase of
10.4% on the previous year.


People

Our Boardroom has seen a number of changes during the last twelve months.  As
indicated in my Statement with our first half year's results Jim Dawson left our
employment in May 2003 after a total of twenty one years service, of which
eleven were as a director, and he was therefore very much part of our progress
during that period of time.  In November we were pleased to welcome Jonathan
Kemp who was appointed commercial director with responsibility for all sales and
marketing areas.  Jonathan joined us from Procter and Gamble where he had gained
ten years experience within a variety of their consumer products areas.

In June Ronnie Hanna, most recently chief executive of Bett p.l.c., joined the
Board as a non-executive director in anticipation of the retiral at the end of
November of John Goodwin after ten years service.  John was our first
independent non-executive director and we are considerably indebted to him for
the wise counsel which he has so willingly given us over these years.

The last change to report to you involved responsibilities as opposed to
personnel.  Roger White has already made a substantial contribution to the
Company since he joined as managing director some nineteen months ago and I was
very pleased therefore that the Board agreed that he should become chief
executive with effect from 1st February 2004.  I will remain chairman of the
Company but plan that this will gradually become a part-time role.

The excellent results of our last financial year were achieved through the
skills, hard work and enthusiasm of all our employees and I would like to thank
each one of them, on behalf of shareholders, for their own particular
contribution.



Corporate Governance

The revised Combined Code on Corporate Governance which stemmed from the Higgs
and Smith reports will apply to our new financial year to January 2005.  We will
make the necessary changes to our previous Corporate Governance arrangements to
enable us to comply with the amended aspects of the revised Code which are
appropriate to a Company of our particular size and structure.


Prospects

Forecasts for the U.K. soft drinks industry continue to anticipate long term
growth.  The current anxiety surrounding health issues in the UK is likely to
continue to affect consumer trends with diet carbonates, still drinks and water
products capturing a greater share of the total market compared with traditional
sugar sweetened carbonates.  We will maximise these newer areas of opportunity
across the portfolio without losing focus on the traditional products in our
range.

Our balance sheet at end January 2004 shows a cash balance of £25 million a
substantial year-on-year increase, partly due to the excellent trading
performance but also reflecting a lower than normal investment in fixed tangible
assets during the last twelve months.  A review of our existing operating
structure is likely however to lead in the near term to investment plans which
will require substantial capital expenditures as we continue to improve the
future efficiencies and the potential of our business.

The annual general meeting to be held on 24th May will be the 100th since the
formation of what was then A.G.Barr & Company Limited - an offshoot of the
original soft drinks business which Andrew Barr's father started in Falkirk in
1875.  It is of course a matter of pride to contemplate the progress which has
been achieved by these once small operations over such an extended period of
time but the greater satisfaction is our current confidence that we can continue
into A.G.Barr's second century the successful development of an independent
business to the ongoing benefit of all our stakeholders.



Robin Barr
Chairman


29th March 2004



CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S STATEMENT

The strong financial performance of A.G.Barr p.l.c. in 2003/2004 was accompanied
by a number of significant changes throughout the organisation designed to
provide a strong platform for further profitable growth.

Sales growth in 2003/04 of 41/2%, including the benefit of the 53rd week,
although a little disappointing reflects our focus on the improvement of
operating margins. Throughout the year a process of optimisation and continuous
improvement was implemented across our total operation which delivered increased
margins and improved operating efficiencies.  As a result the financial
performance of the business has significantly improved.


41/2%              sales growth
13%                profit growth
14%                EPS growth


The soft drinks category has been an exciting market to be part of in the last
12 months.  Undoubtedly the benefits of excellent summer weather have buoyed
demand for almost all forms of liquid refreshment and with the significant
innovation in the category consumers have not been short of choice.



Total Soft Drinks growth                                 7%
Carbonated Soft Drinks growth                            4%
CSD (excl cola/lemonade) growth                          3%
Water growth                                            19%

                                         (Source: A C Nielsen ScanTrack Impulse)


We at Barr have benefited from the favourable market conditions but we chose to
focus our energies on driving value into our core business through our trading
activity rather than chasing volume at the expense of margin.  We have also
continued throughout last year to invest heavily in the marketing and
development of our core brands on which our future success is dependent.

Further consolidation of our customer base has gathered momentum over the course
of last year.  We have, as far as possible, anticipated changes in both
ownership and trading strategies amongst our major customers ensuring that we
continue to provide a strong commercial and service offering to all customers.
Our balance of trade across the varied channels we supply has not materially
altered - even under the pressure of this continued retail consolidation. Our
ability to access consumers through multiple channels remains a key strength of
Barr Soft Drinks.

The political and social landscape has never been more difficult for all food
and drink manufacturers.  The health and personal wellbeing debate has raged
throughout the year.  While this has not impacted our business in the short term
we are taking all possible steps to ensure we are fit to meet the future
challenges that changes in society and consumer preference and habit may bring.

Capital spend, as indicated by the Chairman in his remarks has at £3.3 million
been low compared to recent years. This reflects both the quality of our
existing asset base and our ability to maximise its use. This reduced spend does
not however signal any change in the asset investment strategy of the company
which has seen continued heavy capital investment for growth and efficiency over
many years. We are now planning for further growth which will require
significant capital investment in both capacity and efficiency throughout our
manufacturing and supply chain.

Our financial performance in 03/04 reflects the underlying strength of the
business in particular its people, brands, physical assets and its customer
reach through each of the different routes to market. Having reviewed each of
these major areas of operation we have identified the priorities to drive our
future profitable growth in the UK soft drinks market.

Our strategy focused on growth in soft drinks remains consistent. We will
continue to grow our portfolio of alternative soft drink brands organically
across the UK but will now turn more focus to growth through innovation and the
possible addition of appropriate new brands and products to our strong
portfolio.

To deliver this growth strategy over the coming years we will be seeking
improvements and progress in the following five key strategic areas


            -        Core brands and markets development
            -        Portfolio development/Innovation
            -        Route to market development
            -        Partnerships
            -        Efficient operations


Plans have now commenced in all of these areas and we have already enjoyed early
success in our drive to improve service and efficiency thoughout our supply
chain, the benefits of which have been evident in 03/04 financial performance.
We have also made some significant steps in refocusing and restructuring our
Commercial team which will improve our commercial delivery and critically, our
focus on innovation.

Finally, people have always been important in Barr, but now more than ever we
are looking to leverage the capability and enthusiasm of the whole enterprise
behind our growth objectives and plans.

Our performance in 03/04 has delivered strong financial results. Margins are now
returned to acceptable levels and cash is available to drive growth in volumes
and efficiency.

I am confident that our plans for 04/05 will, by building on our previous years
strengths, continue to deliver improvements in business performance in what is
an exciting and challenging market.


Roger A White
Chief Executive
29 March 2004





A.G.BARR p.l.c.
and its Subsidiary Companies


Consolidated profit and loss account
for the year (53 weeks) ended 31 January, 2004

The following are the unaudited results for the 12 months to 31 January, 2004.
The Board recommends the payment of a final dividend of 17.00p per share which
if approved by the shareholders will be posted on 09 June, 2004. The total
distribution proposed for the year amounts to 25.50p per share (2003 - 23.10p)


                                                                                     Year
                                                                                (53 weeks)
                                                                                     ended          Year ended
                                                                                  31.01.04            25.01.03
                                                                                      £000                £000

Turnover                                                                           125,235             120,005

Profit on ordinary activities before interest                                       13,198              11,873
Interest received                                                                      599                 340
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation                                       13,797              12,213
Tax on profit on ordinary activities                                                 4,085               3,693
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation                                         9,712               8,520



Earnings per share on issued share capital                                         49.90 p        43.78 p
Basic earnings per share                                                           51.98 p        45.36 p
Fully diluted earnings per share                                                   49.33 p        43.20 p
Dividend per share                                                                 25.50 p        23.10 p
Dividend (£000)                                                                    4,963          4,496

            Record date:                                         07 May, 2004
            Ex-div date  :                                       05 May, 2004



The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute
statutory accounts.  The financial information for the year ended 25 January,
2003 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year which have been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies.  The auditors have reported on those
accounts and their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under
S237 Companies Act 1985.




Balance Sheets
as at 31 January, 2004
                                                                   GROUP                          COMPANY
                                                               2004           2003         2004             2003
                                                               £000           £000         £000             £000

Fixed assets
Tangible assets                                              39,545         42,255       39,018           41,685
Investment in subsidiaries and associated undertakings            -              -          205              205

                                                             39,545         42,255       39,223           41,890


Current assets
 
Stocks                                                       10,418         12,185       10,285           12,093
Debtors                                                      20,126         20,269       19,720           19,972
Investment                                                    2,750          3,092        2,750            3,092
Cash at bank                                                 24,937         15,545       24,824           15,432

                                                             58,231         51,091       57,579           50,589
Creditors: Due within one year                               27,225         27,282       27,522           27,435
Net current assets                                           31,006         23,809       30,057           23,154


Total assets less current liabilities                        70,551         66,064       69,280           65,044



Provisions for liabilities and charges
Deferred credit                                                 628            636          628              636
Deferred taxation                                             4,757          5,011        4,745            5,011
                                                              5,385          5,647        5,373            5,647

                                                             65,166         60,417       63,907           59,397


Capital and reserves
Called up share capital                                       4,865          4,865        4,865            4,865
Share premium account                                           905            905          905              905
Profit and loss account                                      59,396         54,647       58,137           53,627

                                                             65,166         60,417       63,907           59,397



Cash Flow Statement
For the year (53 weeks) ended 31 January, 2004
                                                             2004                             2003
                                                         £000            £000            £000             £000

Net cash inflow from operating activities                              20,417                           19,737

Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received                                         603                             352
Interest paid                                             (4)                            (12)
Net cash inflow from returns on investments and
servicing of finance
                                                                          599                              340

Taxation
Corporation tax paid                                                  (3,874)                          (3,349)

Capital expenditure and financial investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets                     (3,306)                         (5,411)
Sale of tangible fixed assets                             274                             328
                                                                      (3,032)                          (5,083)
                                                                       14,110                           11,645

Dividends paid                                                        (4,719)                          (4,204)

Increase in cash                                                        9,391                            7,441





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