Interim Results

Nichols PLC
02 August 2007

Date:           Embargoed until 07.00hrs, Thursday 2 August 2007

Contacts:       John Nichols, Executive Chairman
                Brendan Hynes, Group Finance Director
                Nichols plc
                Telephone:  [phone]
                Website:    www.nicholsplc.co.uk

                Alistair Mackinnon-Musson
                Nicola Savage
                Hudson Sandler
                Telephone:  [phone]
                Email:  [e-mail]

Photographs available:  On request from Hudson Sandler, as above


                                  Nichols plc

                                INTERIM  RESULTS

Nichols plc, the soft drinks group, announces its Interim results for the six
months to 30 June 2007.

The Group is a highly focused soft drinks and dispensed cold drinks business,
comprising two operations:

 1. Soft Drinks (sales and marketing of the Vimto brand throughout the world,
    where it is now available in over 65 countries and of the Panda & Sunkist
    brands in the UK) and

 2. Dispense Systems (namely the Cabana & Beacon cold soft drinks on draught '
    dispense' businesses)

Highlights:

  • Turnover up 6.1%
  • Profit on continuing activities before tax and exceptional items up 14.9%
  • Increased cash balances;  Interim dividend up 6.1%
  • Core Vimto brand has continued its UK growth;  International performance
    strong
  • Cariel integration is going well;  four new distributors signed for
    Dispense Systems
  • Further progress is expected for the full year;  Board confident of the
    future


Commenting John Nichols, Chairman, said:

'I am delighted to report that, for the fifth consecutive year, we have made
positive progress during the first half.  This has been achieved despite the
soft drinks market generally being highly competitive and the extreme wet
weather conditions experienced so far this summer'.

'Although we expect market volatility to continue throughout the second half, we
still believe our core brands will continue to perform well in a difficult UK
market, and that we will also see growth internationally for the full year.
Combined with the improving performance of our Dispense Systems Operation, we
anticipate showing further progress at the full year'.


Chairman's Statement


I am delighted to report that, for the fifth consecutive year, we have made
positive progress during the first half. We have achieved this despite the soft
drinks market generally being highly competitive and the extreme wet weather
conditions experienced so far this summer.

Results

The Interim results to June 2007 are the first set of trading results produced
by Nichols PLC using the measurement basis of International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS). An analysis of the impact of IFRS, together with
reconciliation from UK GAAP to IFRS, was reported separately on 30 July 2007.

Turnover in the six months to 30 June 2007 at £27.8 million was 6.1% up on the
first half of last year (2006: £26.2 million). This includes £0.5 million of
sales relating to Cariel Soft Drinks acquired in April 2007.  Profit on
continuing activities before tax and exceptional items was up 14.9% at £2.77
million (2006: restated £2.41 million).

Earnings per share decreased by 4.6% to 5.43 pence (2006: restated 5.69 pence)
mainly due to the higher effective tax rate in 2007.

The Group also had increased positive cash balances of £5.8 million at the end
of June 2007 (2006: £2.4 million).

The acquisition of Cariel Soft Drinks, a cold soft drinks on draught business
based in Dunblane Scotland, was in line with the aim to grow our core business.
This acquisition, combined with the four new distributors signed in the first
half of 2007, will help underpin the continued improvement in trading at our
Dispense Systems Operation that is anticipated during the remainder of 2007 and
beyond.

Soft Drinks Operation

After a better than expected start to the year, particularly in April, the
months of May and June saw the general soft drinks market dominated by a
combination of deep promotional activity and extreme wet weather, both of which
have made trading extremely difficult in the first half of the year.

Despite these exceptionally challenging market conditions, I am pleased to
report that our core Vimto brand has continued to grow, particularly in the '
Carbonates' and 'Ready to Drink' sectors, both of which have seen market share
gains in the first half.

Internationally, the Vimto brand has also performed strongly, particularly in
the Middle East, where sales were ahead in the first six months due to the
timing of Ramadan. This uplift, however, is largely a timing issue, with
forecast sales in the second half consequently being lower than normal, although
in total, International sales for the year are expected to be ahead of those
made in 2006.

In overall terms we still expect to see growth in the full year from our Soft
Drinks Operation.

Dispense Systems Operation

The transformation of our Dispense Systems Operation to an 'external distributor
model' is now complete. This means that in 17 of the 19 UK regions covered,
provision of the actual dispense equipment and its subsequent maintenance are no
longer the responsibility of the Group.  Having effectively 'out-sourced' these
aspects, long term agreements are now in place with the 17 external
distributors, whereby Nichols supplies them with the consumable 'syrups' and '
juices'  from which the dispense drink product is mixed at the point of sale.

In the first half of 2007 we successfully attracted four new distributors to the
division and completed the acquisition of Cariel Soft Drinks, both of which
increase geographical coverage and significantly strengthen our market position.

Our Dispense Systems Operation is now firmly positioned as the UK's third major
player in this sector and with its turnaround complete, we expect to see the
financial benefits of our strategy coming through in the second half of 2007.

Dividend

This is our fifth consecutive year of improved Interim profits which, combined
with our strong cash position and our confidence in the future, means the Board
has approved a 6.1% increase in the Interim dividend to 3.50 pence per share
(2006: 3.30 pence).

The Interim dividend will be paid on the 7 September 2007 to shareholders
registered on the 10 August 2007. The ex-dividend date will be 8 August 2007.

Outlook

The extremely poor summer weather to date, combined with higher than normal
promotional activity in the market, means that we expect the soft drinks market
generally to remain fairly volatile throughout the second half of the year.

Despite these factors, however, we still believe our core brands will continue
to perform well and that we will see further growth internationally.  Combined
with the improving performance of our Dispense Systems Operation, we anticipate
showing further progress in sales for the full year at Group level.

On 19 March 2007, Nichols PLC announced it was in preliminary discussions
regarding the possibility of an offer being made for the entire issued and to be
issued share capital of the Group. These discussions continue, although there is
no certainty that an offer will be made.  Further announcements will be made as
appropriate.

John Nichols
Chairman
2 August 2007


CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

                                         Unaudited        Unaudited        Unaudited        Unaudited        Unaudited
                                                    Restated before   Restated after  Restated before   Restated after
                                                        exceptional      exceptional      exceptional      exceptional
                                                              items            items            items            items  
                                                                                                                      
                                   Half year ended  Half year ended  Half year ended  Full year ended  Full year ended
                                        30 June 07       30 June 06       30 June 06        31 Dec 06        31 Dec 06
                                             £'000            £'000            £'000            £'000            £'000

Revenue - continuing activities             27,802           26,188           26,188           52,296           52,296

Operating profit - continuing                2,702            2,446              336            7,897            5,287
activities

Profit on disposal of non-current                0                0              128                0              128
assets
Finance income                                 127               86               86              156              156
Finance expense                               (62)            (121)            (121)             (98)             (98)

Profit before taxation                       2,767            2,411              429            7,955            5,473
                                               
Taxation                                       767            (284)              379            2,296            1,238

Profit from continuing activities            2,000            2,695               50            5,659            4,235

Profit on disposal of discontinued               0                0            2,038                0            2,038
operations

Profit for the period                        2,000            2,695            2,088            5,659            6,273

Earnings per share (basic) - total           5.43p                             5.69p                            17.10p
and continuing activities

Earnings per share (diluted) -               5.42p                             5.67p                            17.08p
total and continuing activities

Dividends paid per share                     6.50p                             3.30p                             9.40p


The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.


CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
                                                           Unaudited              Unaudited                  Unaudited
                                                        30 June 2007           30 June 2006                31 Dec 2006
                                                               £'000                  £'000                      £'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment                                  2,891                  4,053                      3,179
Goodwill                                                      10,771                  9,504                      9,624
Deferred tax asset                                             1,945                  2,125                      1,892
Total non-current assets                                      15,607                 15,682                     14,695


Current assets
Inventories                                                    2,689                  3,053                      2,169
Trade and other receivables                                   15,615                 17,599                     12,364
Cash and cash equivalents                                      5,826                  2,448                      7,460
Total current assets                                          24,130                 23,100                     21,993

Total assets                                                  39,737                 38,782                     36,688

LIABILITIES

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables                                      12,131                 11,979                      8,366
Current tax payable                                              750                  1,118                        598
Total current liabilities                                     12,881                 13,097                      8,964

Non-current liabilities
Retirement benefit obligations                                 6,504                  6,508                      6,504
Provisions                                                       746                  2,353                      1,211
Total non-current liabilities                                  7,250                  8,861                      7,715

Total liabilities                                             20,131                 21,958                     16,679

Net assets                                                    19,606                 16,824                     20,009

EQUITY
Share capital                                                  3,697                  3,697                      3,697
Share premium account                                          3,255                  3,255                      3,255
Capital redemption reserve                                     1,209                  1,209                      1,209
Other reserves                                                 (487)                  (698)                      (487)
Retained earnings                                             11,932                  9,361                     12,335
Total equity                                                  19,606                 16,824                     20,009


The accompanying notes form an integral part of these financial statements.




CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

                                                                 Unaudited              Unaudited             Unaudited
                                                           Half year ended        Half year ended       Full year ended
                                                              30 June 2007           30 June 2006           31 Dec 2006
                                                        £'000        £'000     £'000        £'000      £'000      £'000

Profit for the period                                                2,000                  2,088                 6,273

Cash flows from operating activities
Adjusted for:
Depreciation                                              388                    573                     794
Non-current asset impairment                                0                      0                   1,935
Loss/(profit) on sale of property, plant and               24                (2,158)                 (2,136)
equipment
Share option charge                                        50                      0                     100
Interest receivable                                     (127)                   (86)                   (156)
Interest payable                                           62                    121                      98
Taxation expense recognised in the income statement       767                    379                   1,238
Change in inventories                                   (462)                  (721)                     163
Change in receivables                                 (3,000)                (3,806)                   (194)
Change in payables                                      3,605                  1,665                 (2,326)
Change in provisions                                    (465)                  1,698                     556
Change in employee benefits                                 0                  (500)                   (504)
                                                                       842                (2,835)                 (432)
Cash generated from operations                                       2,842                  (747)                 5,841

Interest paid                                            (62)                   (61)                    (72)
Taxation paid                                           (669)                  (482)                 (1,654)
Net cash used in operating activities                                (731)                  (543)               (1,726)

Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received                                         127                     86                     156
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment       424                  6,103                   7,474
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment            (348)                  (343)                   (837)
Disposal of discontinued operation, net of cash             0                  6,455                   6,455
costs
Purchase of subsidiary undertakings                   (1,251)                      0                       0
Net overdrafts acquired with subsidiary                 (144)                      0                       0
Additional consideration in respect of a prior          (150)                      0                   (120)
acquisition
Net cash used in investing activities                              (1,342)                 12,301                13,128

Cash flows from financing activities
Repayment of borrowings                                     0                (6,308)                 (6,308)
Dividends paid                                        (2,403)                (2,255)                 (3,475)
Net cash used in financing activities                              (2,403)                (8,563)               (9,783)

Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash                           (1,634)                  2,448                 7,460
equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period                     7,460                      0                     0
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period                           5,826                  2,448                 7,460


STATEMENT OF RECOGNISED INCOME AND EXPENSE
                                                                          Unaudited                           Unaudited
                                                                  Half year             Half year             Full year
                                                                      ended                 ended                 ended
                                                               30 June 2007          30 June 2006           31 Dec 2006
                                                                      £'000                 £'000                 £'000

Actuarial movement in defined benefit schemes                             0                     0                    91

Deferred taxation on pension scheme deficit                               0                     0                  (27)

Net income recognised directly in equity                                  0                     0                    64

Profit for the period                                                 2,000                 2,088                 6,273

Total recognised income and expense                                   2,000                 2,088                 6,337
for the period


NOTES

1.      Basis of Preparation

The financial information set out in this interim report does not constitute
statutory accounts as defined in Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.  The
group's statutory financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2006,
prepared under UK GAAP, have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.  The
auditor's report on those financial statements was unqualified and did not
contain a statement under Section 237 (2) of the Companies Act 1985.

The accounting policies for the group can be found in the transition document
which was published via the Regulatory News Service (RNS) on 30 July 2007.

2.      Dividends

The interim dividend of 3.50p (2006: 3.30p) will be paid on 7 September 2007 to
shareholders registered on 10 August 2007.  The ex dividend date is 8 August
2007.

3.      Earnings per share

Earnings per share are based on the weighted average number of shares in issue
in the six months to 30 June 2007 of 36,905,548 (six months to 30 June 2006 of
36,693,536 and 12 months to 31 December 2006 of 36,685,868).

4.      Acquisitions

On 6 April 2007 the group acquired the assets and liabilities of Cariel Soft
Drinks Limited for £1.25m.  The acquisition was made to increase the
geographical range of the group's Dispense business and to enhance Cabana's
position as the third largest operator in the dispense sector in the UK.  The
assets acquired were:

Provisional fair values
                                                                     £000's
Non-current assets                                                      197
Inventories                                                              58
Trade and other receivables                                             251
Trade and other payables                                              (258)
Overdraft                                                             (144)
Net assets acquired                                                     104

Cash consideration                                                    1,251
Provisional goodwill                                                  1,147


The turnover since acquisition was £473,000 and the operating profit was
£41,000.  These have not been disclosed separately in the income statement as
they are not considered to be material.

Management have reviewed the fair value of the assets and liabilities acquired.
At this time the review of intangible assets acquired is ongoing.  Any necessary
adjustments to goodwill following the conclusion of this exercise will be
reflected in the year end financial statements.


                                    - ENDS -


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