AGM Interim Management Statem

RNS Number : 1698G

Britvic plc

27 January 2010

 



Britvic plc ("Britvic") AGM and Interim Management Statement

27th January 2010

At the Annual General Meeting to be held at 11.00am this morning, Gerald Corbett, Chairman, will make the following comment on the Company's trading for the 12 weeks to 20th December 2009 ("the period"):

Overview

Britvic today reports total revenues of £242.7m for the 12 weeks to 20th December 2009, an increase of 11.0% on the prior year. GB and International revenues grew by 15.2% during the period, representing GB carbonates growth of 20.1%, GB stills growth of 9.6%, and Britvic International growth of 5.1%. The contribution from Britvic Ireland of £48.4m for the 3 months to 31st December 2009 was down by 3.0% on the same period in the prior year, although underlying euro revenues were down by 10.1%.

Great Britain

In GB, we again outperformed a soft drinks market that has continued its return to growth, with our volume share of the Take-Home market increasing by a further 0.4% in the period. Revenues were up against prior year in all four of Britvic's GB trading divisions.

GB stills market volume growth of 3.0% outpaced carbonates growth of 1.4%, reinforcing the recent trend. Stills market growth was driven by categories such as plain water and sports drinks, while carbonates market volume growth came mainly from the cola and glucose/stimulant categories. The Licensed On-Premise soft drink market continued to recover in the period, with November in particular demonstrating strong growth.

Long-established brands such as Robinsons squash and J2O, alongside more recently-introduced brands such as Fruit Shoot H2O and Gatorade, drove Britvic's stills volume growth of 3.1%. Strong GB stills ARP growth of 6.2% came as a result of improved product mix and the balance of the price increases implemented in 2009. Every Britvic carbonates brand saw impressive growth in the period, especially Pepsi, 7UP and Tango. Carbonates ARP growth of 3.0% supported a very strong 16.8% volume increase as Britvic took advantage of a number of incremental opportunities to drive further distribution.

International

Britvic's International business has delivered exceptional volume growth of 11.3% through distribution gains in existing and new territories, such as the successful 2009 introduction of Fruit Shoot into Sweden. ARP declined by 5.6% due to a marginally-unfavourable product mix and the timing of promotional activity; however, we anticipate that this decline will reverse over the course of the year.

Ireland

Shoppers in Ireland have again focused on value in the latest quarter. Although volumes are flat in the ROI Grocery market, value is down by 12.8% as promotions and discounting are driven harder. Britvic Ireland has again broadly held share within ROI Grocery whilst significantly gaining share in a Licensed On-Premise market that remains under pressure. For Britvic Ireland, owned-brand volumes were down by 4.0% in the quarter, with euro-based ARP down by 3.4%. Continuing successful implementation of the Business Transformation Programme means that the remaining planned synergies for 2010-11 are fully on track.

Outlook

We anticipate that the GB soft drinks market will continue to demonstrate resilience through 2010, although the Irish market is expected to remain challenging. Although the first quarter of 2009 was a relatively weak period, our success this time was driven by robust market conditions, additional distribution gains, winning innovation and continued ARP growth. 

Given the exceptionally strong performance during the comparative period in 2009, the second quarter would be expected to see a relative slowing of the rate of growth. In addition, adverse weather conditions have been unhelpful in the early weeks of January resulting in a marked slowing of demand and looking ahead, we again remain cautious about the outlook for consumer confidence and spending in the balance of the financial year. However we continue to benefit from the consistent execution of our proven marketing, point-of-purchase and innovation strategies, as well as our ongoing focus on costs.  We are therefore confident of meeting the Board's expectations for the 53-week financial year ending 3rd October 2010 that will continue to build on our strong track record of revenue, operating profit and margin growth.

For further information please contact:

Investors:
Craig Marks/Steve Nightingale	[phone]
Media:
Tom Buchanan/Giles Croot (Brunswick)	[phone]

Britvic's next scheduled announcements will be:

30th March 2010 - Investor Seminar, London

18th May 2010     - Interim Results, London  

Both events will be webcast, and attendance will be by invitation.

Notes to editors

Britvic is one of the two leading branded soft drinks businesses in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The Company is the largest supplier of branded still soft drinks in Great Britain, and the number two supplier of branded carbonates.

Britvic's broad portfolio of leading brands includes established names with high brand recognition such as Robinsons, Tango, J2O and Fruit Shoot. Included within the portfolio are the PepsiCo brands which Britvic produces, markets, sells and distributes under its exclusive appointments from PepsiCo. This brand and product portfolio enables Britvic to target and satisfy a wide range of consumer demands in all major soft drinks categories, via all available routes to market. 

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

This announcement includes statements that are forward-looking in nature. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by the Listing Rules and applicable law, Britvic undertakes no obligation to update or change any forward-looking statements to reflect events occurring after the date such statements are published.

Reporting Periods

Britvic Ireland reports on a monthly basis in comparison to the rest of the Britvic group of companies which report on thirteen 4-week periods. There are no immediate plans to change this reporting structure.

Market Data

Take-home and Impulse market data referred to in this announcement is supplied by AC Nielsen and runs to 26th December 2009. Licensed On-Premise data is supplied by AC Nielsen and runs to 30th November 2009. 

Britvic Ireland

Please note: Irish volumes and ARP shown refer only to owned brands. Revenue also includes that derived from the sale of third-party brands within the wholesaling division.

 

END

 

 

AGMSESFAMFSSESF