Interim Results

RNS Number : 9274U

Britvic plc

21 May 2008

 



Britvic plc Interim Results

Britvic plc ('Britvic') today announces its Interim Results for the 28 weeks ended 13 April 2008 ('the period').

	28 weeks ended  13 April 2008 £m	28 weeks ended  15 April 2007 £m	% change
Revenue	454.7	353.6	28.6
GB Stills Revenue	161.8	157.4	2.8
GB Carbonates Revenue	185.4	184.6	0.4
EBITDA*	55.2	48.2	14.5
Operating Profit	31.4	24.2	29.8
Operating Profit Margin	6.9%	6.8%	10bpts
Profit before tax	17.2	15.2	13.2
Net Debt	(453.8)	(309.8)	(46.5)
Profit after tax	13.0	10.9	19.3
Basic earnings per share	6.1p	5.0p	22.0
Interim dividend per share Free cash flow**	3.8p (10.5)	3.3p (12.2)	15.2 13.9

All numbers in this announcement other than those included within the Financial Statements are disclosed before exceptional items 

* EBITDA is defined as operating profit before exceptional items, depreciation, amortisation and any gain or loss on disposal of fixed

  assets

**Free cash flow is defined as net cash flow excluding movements in borrowings, dividend payments and non cash exceptional items 

●	The Britvic group, including the first full 28-week contribution from Britvic Ireland, grew revenues by 28.6% to £454.7m during the period.
	●	Britvic GB and International have grown revenue by 1.9% to £355.2m, a resilient performance given challenging trading conditions and tough FY07 comparatives. Highlights include:
		◦	Continued outperformance of the market across all categories in stills.
		◦	Despite a strong post Christmas performance, carbonates were impacted by the weakness in the Licensed On-Premise channel and increased promotional activity across the Take Home market in Q1.
		◦	Strong international growth, with Robinsons and Fruit Shoot driving Britvic International’s revenue growth up 17.6%.
	●	Britvic Ireland has performed well in its first full period, contributing revenues of £99.5m and £4.3m of operating profit.
		◦	Fully on track to deliver on the estimated annual (pre-tax) synergies of €14m by end of FY09.
●	Operating profit growth of 29.8% to £31.4m with operating profit margin improvement of 10bps to 6.9% due to a continued sharp focus on costs, despite on-going raw material pressures and the first period contribution from Britvic Ireland with its lower margin structure.
●	Profit after tax up 19.3% to £13.0m, full year tax rate expected to move to c.24% from 28.2%, due to the full impact of the lower tax regime in Ireland.
●	An improved underlying free cash flow, up 13.9% on last year, underpins the Board’s confidence in paying an interim dividend per share of 3.8p up 15.2% on last year.

 Paul Moody, Chief Executive commented:

'Britvic has delivered a resilient performance in the first half with market share gains across the majority of our brands. This is a positive result given the challenging trading environment in the Licensed On-Premise market in particular and also in Take Home where the market is still recovering from the effects of last year's poor summer. The integration of the Britvic Ireland business is progressing well and we are confident of delivering the €14m synergies previously announced.  

The first half of our year has been a period of modest growth for the soft drinks market overall, with improving growth trends evident in the early weeks of the second half. We are well positioned to drive group earnings growth through brand and product expansion, innovation, a continued close focus on cost control, and the realisation of the benefits of the outsourcing of retail distribution. The board remains confident that we will deliver on our full year expectations.'

For further information please contact:

Investors:
John Gibney/ Craig Marks	[phone]
Media:
Tom Buchanan/ Giles Croot (Brunswick)	[phone]
Emma Peacock/ Susan Turner	[phone]

A presentation for analysts and investors will be held at 9.30am on 21 May 2008 in the Auditorium at Deutsche Bank, Winchester House, 1 Great Winchester Street, EC2N 2BD. A live webcast of the presentation including Q&A will be available on the Britvic plc website www.britvic.com

There will also be a conference call today at 2.30pm (9.30am Eastern Time) primarily for US investors and analysts where there will be an opportunity to ask questions. A recording of the call will be available for seven days. To access this call please dial the access number below and use the pin number given.

Access number:	[phone]
Pin code:	566466#
Recording number:	[phone]
Conference reference:	216247#

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 still soft drinks and the number two supplier of carbonates. Britvic's broad portfolio of leading brands includes established names with high brand recognition such as Robinsons, Tango, J20 and Fruit Shoot. Included within the portfolio are the Pepsi and 7UP brands, which Britvic produces, markets, sells and distributes under its exclusive appointment from PepsiCo which runs until December 2023 in Great Britain and 2015 in Ireland. 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.

Download Full Interim Results Announcement (pdf format)

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/9274U_-2008-5-20.pdf

 

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