Final Results - Year Ended 31 December 1999

Nichols(J.N.)(Vimto) PLC
29 March 2000

  
  Contacts:      John Nichols, Chairman
                 J N Nichols (Vimto) plc
                 Telephone:  [phone]
  
                 Alistair Mackinnon-Musson
                 Philip Dennis
                 Square Mile Communications
                 Telephone:     [phone]
  
                A copy of this press release is also available on
                www.nicholsplc.co.uk/prelims.htm
               
  
                      J N NICHOLS (VIMTO) PLC
                        Preliminary Results
                                 
J  N Nichols (Vimto) plc announces its preliminary results for the
year to 31 December 1999. The Group has four principal operations:
Nichols   Foods  (manufacturer  and  supplier  to   the   vending,
foodservice  and retail markets), Soft Drinks (primarily  involved
in the manufacture and sale of Vimto and other soft drinks through
out  the world), Stockpack (contract packer for the food industry)
and  Beverage Systems (hot beverage systems and Cabana soft drinks
on draught).

The key points are:

*    Turnover increased by 10.5% to £80.7m
*    Earnings per share increased by 11.5%
*    Total dividend increased to 8.5p
*    Restructuring of the Soft Drinks Operation completed
*    Restructuring of Cabana Soft Drinks completed
*    Balmoral Trading Limited acquired for £5.97m and integrating well
*    Reorganisation of Group Board
     *  John Nichols became Executive Chairman
     *  Gary Unsworth became Group Managing Director

Commenting John Nichols, Chairman, said:

'Over  the  last  year the Group has successfully  been  though  a
period  of  substantial restructuring. We are already experiencing
the  benefits,  which will continue to flow  though  in  the  year
ahead.  The Group is now in a much stronger position and  we  look
forward to the future with confidence'.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

1999  was  a year of immense change for the group, as we continued
to  re-shape  it  to face the challenges of a constantly  changing
marketplace.  These changes were successfully implemented  and  in
summary they included:

*     The  relocation  of  the whole of the  group's  Soft  Drinks
  Operation  from  three separate sites into one,  brand  new  and
  purpose built facility at Stone Cross, Golborne. The new factory
  and  offices cover 132,000 square feet and the whole  site  7.65
  acres.

*     The  acquisition in March 1999 for £5.97 million of Balmoral
  Trading Limited, the UK's leading supplier of hot beverage systems
  to the catering and leisure industries.

*     After disposing of the Wythenshawe site, as a result of  the
  re-location mentioned above, the Group's head office function was
  also  moved  to new leased premises, Laurel House, in Newton-le-
  Willows. Laurel House is in close proximity to both Nichols Foods
  and  the  Soft  Drinks  Operation and the group's  international
  operation has also been re-located there.

*     The  manufacturing of all of Cabana Soft Drinks' syrups  for
  draught  dispense was integrated into Nichols Foods, which  also
  assumed responsibility for the sales and marketing activities that
  support all of Cabana's third party distributors.

*     The  rights to produce the Sunkist brand were acquired  from
  Cadbury  Schweppes  and this has already proved  to  be  a  very
  positive  move  for the Group. Further development  of  what  is
  already a well recognised brand in the marketplace is underway.

Turnover for the year to 31 December 1999 was £80.7 million (1998:
£73.0  million)  and  profit before tax was £8.75  million  (1998:
£8.11  million). Earnings per share were 16.37 pence (1998:  14.67
pence) and the directors have recommended a final dividend of  5.6
pence per share, bringing the total for the year to 8.5 pence  per
share  (1998:  8.2 pence). This will be paid on 15  May  2000,  to
those shareholders registered on 14 April 2000.

In  December  1999,  the  company bought and  cancelled  1,900,000
shares.  This  will  increase  the earnings  attributable  to  the
remaining shares in issue in the future.

Capital  expenditure in the year amounted to £9.2  million.  About
half  of  this  related  to  the relocation  of  the  Soft  Drinks
Operation into the Stone Cross site which commenced in 1998.

All  of  the above initiatives place the group in an even stronger
position to face the future with confidence. With varying  degrees
of  success, our operational divisions coped well with the changes
made and the performance of each is reported in summary below.

NICHOLS FOODS

Nichols  Foods continues to operate within the 'out-of-home'  food
and beverage markets of vending and foodservice and it also has  a
growing  business  within the retail market. The  vending  market,
where  ingredients  are  supplied  to  the  operators  of  vending
equipment, remains the division's largest market sector.

Structural changes in the industry have led to a consolidation  of
customers and Nichols Foods has achieved significant success in re-
tendering  for  these  larger  'merged'  accounts.  The  company's
successful  strategy  of  supplying  its  own  branded   products,
alongside selected high street named products such as Nestle  Gold
Blend, Kenco and PG Tips, continues.

During  1999,  Nichols Foods became the internal supplier  of  dry
ingredients  to Balmoral and the manufacturer of all  Cabana  Soft
Drinks' syrups for draught dispense.

For these reasons and to allow valid comparisons with the previous
years  trading,  we  have combined the results of  Nichols  Foods,
Balmoral  and Cabana to report sales as £49.2m (1998  £42.2m)  and
the operating profit £4.6m (1998 £5.1m).

SOFT DRINKS OPERATION

The  soft  drinks  market  in 1999 was  buoyant,  especially  when
compared  to  the poor summer weather of the previous year.  Vimto
Cordial again increased its market share and it now has over 7% of
the 'red / black dilutable' sector. Vimto 'No Added Sugar' Cordial
produced 39% year on year growth in both volume and sales  and  is
capitalising on the continued trend towards low or no added  sugar
products.

Although the performance of Vimto Cordial was very strong, in  the
carbonates market the competition between major retailers  created
the  most  price sensitive and competitive soft drinks market  for
some   years.  This  required  additional  investment   in   media
advertising,  promotional  activity  and  trading  support,  which
naturally had an impact on margins. Significant progress was made,
however,  through wholesale and cash & carry outlets that  service
the independent trade and garage forecourt markets, developing and
widening product distribution and growing volumes.

Internationally,  Vimto  increased its  worldwide  sales  by  2.5%
despite  the  strength  of sterling, with notable  gains  in  both
Africa and the Middle East more than offsetting some disappointing
results  in Russia. Additionally, during 1999, Vimto was  launched
in the central African country of Cameroon, being produced locally
in 330ml and 650ml returnable bottles.

The  forward  international strategy is to sell a wider  range  of
group  products, other than Vimto, into overseas markets.  We  are
therefore  pleased  to report the first international  orders  for
Indigo,  the  Group's refreshing natural energy drink launched  in
the UK in 1996, have now been received.

The combined affect of increasing Vimto brand share of the cordial
market,  new business from Sunkist, improving international  sales
and  more  favourable summer weather, has resulted in the turnover
of the Soft Drinks Operation increasing to £25.44m (1998: 23.92m).

The  relocation  of  the  Soft  Drinks  Operation  from  sites  at
Wythenshawe,  Southampton and Haydock into the brand  new  purpose
built  facility  at Stone Cross, Golborne took  place  during  the
first quarter of 1999. The economies of scale gained by this move,
however,  were  offset  by  the  increased  expenditure  in  brand
support, trade discounting and increased operational costs.  These
factors  resulted  in  the operating profit for  the  Soft  Drinks
Operation being in line with the previous year at £3.9 million.

STOCKPACK

It  is disappointing to have to report another difficult year  for
Stockpack,  our  contract  packing operation,  that  co-packs  dry
ingredients  and  promotional items for many of the  UK's  leading
blue chip food and confectionery manufacturers.

The  co-packing market place experienced some significant  changes
during 1999, the most significant being the change in emphasis  of
the  major supermarkets who moved towards a 'price down'  strategy
and  away from a 'promotional-led' policy of adding value  through
either banding packs together or offering promotional items  along
with  the  original purchase. As Stockpack supports much  of  this
type  of  marketing activity, co-packing many of these  multi  and
special gift packs, it naturally suffered in the downturn, as  the
predicted sales volumes of these goods did not materialise.

However,  it  is also particularly encouraging to  note  that  the
nature  of  co-packing has changed and is now  increasingly  being
regarded  by our major customers as a valuable extension to  their
own  businesses making Stockpack an integral part of our  client's
manufacturing base.

Although the first half of the year was particularly weak over all
for  Stockpack, sales order books in the second half held up well,
as the UK confectionery market built stocks ahead of the Christmas
period.

Turnover  for  the year was £6.10 million (1998: £  6.90  million)
producing an operating loss of £0.3 million (1998: £0.3 million).

During  the  year we strengthened relationships with existing  key
customers  and  added  three further blue chip  companies  to  our
client  portfolio. This will provide Stockpack with more stability
as we move forward.

Some  significant contracts are in place for the year ahead, which
gives  Stockpack a firm foundation on which to move  forward  with
greater confidence.

BEVERAGE SYSTEMS

The acquisition of Balmoral Trading in March 1999 and the transfer
of  the manufacturing of Cabana Soft Drinks' syrup production into
Nichols Foods has allowed us to present a joint report on Balmoral
and Cabana under the new heading of Beverage Systems.

Balmoral is the market leader in supplying hot beverage systems to
the  catering trade and leisure industry. It's blue chip customers
include  Burger King, Little Chef, First Leisure, Tussauds  Group,
Avenance and BP.

One  of the key drivers behind the acquisition of Balmoral was the
strategic fit between hot beverage systems complementing the  cold
soft  drinks on draught offered by Cabana Soft Drinks. The  coming
year  will  realise many more synergies between  both  operations,
particularly in the sales and customer service areas.

Cabana  has  seen significant changes in the way the  business  is
operated. The transfer of the manufacturing of all of Cabana  Soft
Drinks'  syrups  for  draught dispense from Preston  into  Nichols
Foods  has  enabled improved concentration and focus on sales  and
marketing  to  all  areas  of  the Cabana  nationwide  distributor
network which services over 6000 outlets.

The Balmoral business has been part of the group for only 9 months
and  it  has  integrated well. Although the financial  performance
obviously  does not reflect a full year's trading, the  board  has
confidence the synergies, particularly with Cabana, will be  fully
reflected in the current year.

John Nichols
Chairman
29 March 2000


CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
Year ended 31 December 1999


                                             1999                  1998
                                            £'000                 £'000

Turnover
Continuing operations                      74,178                72,966
Acquisitions                                6,542                     -
                                        ---------             ---------
Turnover                                   80,720                72,966

Cost of sales                              61,757                53,835
                                        ---------             ---------
Gross profit                               18,963                19,131

Net operating expenses                     10,725                 9,928

                                        ---------             ---------
Operating profit
Continuing operations            7,855                  9,203
Acquisitions                       383                      -
                             ---------              ---------
Operating profit                            8,238                 9,203

Exceptional item                              906               (1,440)
                                        ---------             ---------
Profit on ordinary activities 
before interest                            9,144                  7,763

Net interest                                (396)                   342
                                        ---------             ---------
Profit on ordinary activities 
before taxation                             8,748                 8,105
Tax on profit on ordinary activities        2,547                 2,619
                                        ---------             ---------
Profit for the financial year               6,201                 5,486
Equity dividends                            3,197                 3,059
                                        ---------             ---------
Retained profit for the year                3,004                 2,427
                                        ---------             ---------


Earnings per share (basic)                 16.37p                14.67p

Earnings per share (diluted)               16.34p                14.65p
Dividends per share                         8.50p                 8.20p


There were no recognised gains or losses in 1999 or 1998 other
than the profit for the year.



BALANCE SHEETS
At 31 December 1999

                                           Group         Parent
                                       1999    1998    1999   1998
                                      £'000   £'000   £'000  £'000
Fixed assets
Intangible assets                     5,782       -       -      -
Tangible assets                      32,320  27,325  18,376 14,379
Investments: shares in
group undertakings                        -      -   17,460 10,203
Investments: own shares                 540    588      540    588
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 
                                     38,642 27,913   36,376 25,170
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 

Current assets
Assets held for resale                    -    484        -    484
Stocks                                7,083  6,929    1,109  1,984
Debtors                              15,975 15,070   12,313 10,182
Cash at bank and in hand                410  1,426        3    108
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 
                                     23,468 23,909   13,425 12,758
Creditors
Amounts falling due within
one year                             26,743 20,220   19,838 10,371
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 
Net current (liabilities) / assets   (3,275) 3,689   (6,413) 2,387

Total assets less current 
liabilities                          35,367 31,602   29,963 27,557

Provisions for liabilities
and charges                           2,193  1,584    1,062    527
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 
                                     33,174 30,018   28,901 27,030
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 

Share capital and reserves
Called up share capital               3,697  3,696    3,697  3,696
Share premium account                 3,255    746    3,255    746
Capital redemption reserve            1,209  1,019    1,209  1,019
Merger reserve                            -      -      775    775
Profit and loss account              25,013 24,557   19,965 20,794
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 
Equity shareholders' funds           33,174 30,018   28,901 27,030
                                     ------ ------   ------ ------ 


CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Year ended 31 December 1999
                                          1999               1998
                                      £'000  £'000       £'000    £'000

Cash inflow from operating activities      14,639                 8,332
                   
Returns on investments and servicing 
of finance
Interest receivable                      25                366
Interest payable                       (416)               (15)
Interest element of hire purchase 
contracts                                (5)                (9)
Net cash (outflow) / inflow 
from returns on investments          ------             ------  
and servicing of finance                     (396)                  342

Taxation                                   (2,588)               (3,422)

Capital expenditure and financial 
investment
Purchase of tangible fixed assets    (9,165)           (11,147)
Proceeds of sales of tangible 
fixed assets                            477                143
Proceeds of sale of own shares          13                   -
Net cash outflow from capital 
expenditure                         ------              ------ 
and financial investment                   (8,675)              (11,004)

Acquisitions and disposals
Acquisition of subsidiary 
undertaking                         (4,557)                  -
Net borrowings acquired 
with subsidiary                       (107)
                                    ------              ------ 
Net cash outflow from acquisitions 
and disposals                       (4,664)                  -

Equity dividends paid                      (3,123)               (3,037)
                                           ------                ------ 
Cash outflow before use of liquid
resources and financing             (4,807)             (8,789)

Management of liquid resources
Cash withdrawn regarding short 
term deposits                               4,000
Increase in short term borrowings    8,000                   -
                                    ------              ------ 
Net cash inflow from management of
liquid resources                     8,000               4,000

Financing
Capital element of hire purchase 
contracts                              (43)                (17)
Cancellation of own shares          (2,548)             (1,471)
                                    ------              ------ 
Net cash outflow from financing            (2,591)               (1,488)
                                           ------                ------ 
Increase / (decrease) in cash in the year     602                (6,277)
                                           ------                ------ 


RECONCILIATION OF OPERATING PROFIT TO NET CASH INFLOW FROM
OPERATING ACTIVITIES

                                             1999                  1998
                                            £'000                 £'000

Operating profit                            8,238                 9,203
Exceptional item                              906                (1,440)
Depreciation - intangible fixed assets        225                     -
Depreciation - tangible fixed assets        4,043                 3,247
Loss / (profit) on sale of tangible 
fixed assets                                  410                   (19)
Write down of own shares                       25                    36
Loss on disposal of own shares                 10                     -
Decrease / (increase) in stocks             1,093                (1,476)
Decrease / (increase) in debtors              667                  (845)
(Decrease) in creditors                      (978)                 (374)
                                           ------                ------ 
                                           14,639                 8,332
                                           ------                ------ 

RECONCILIATION OF NET CASH FLOW TO MOVEMENT IN NET DEBT

                                             1999                  1998
                                            £'000                 £'000
(Increase) / decrease in cash in the period  (602)                6,277
Net cash outflow from management
of liquid resources                         8,000                  4000
Cash outflow from reduction in hire 
purchase contracts                            (43)                  (17)
                                           ------                ------ 
Movement in net debt / (funds) in the year  7,355                10,260
Net debt / (funds)at 1 January 1999         4,269                (5,991)
                                           ------                ------ 
Net debt at 31 December 1999               11,624                 4,269
                                           ------                ------ 

NOTES

1.   Earnings per share is calculated on the basis of earnings  of
     £6,201,000  (1998  -  £5,486,000) and  the  weighted  average
     number of shares in issue for the year of 37,884,216 (1998  -
     37,402,333).

2.   The  annual report will be mailed to shareholders on or about
     5  April 2000. Copies will be available after that date from:
     The  Secretary,  J  N Nichols (Vimto) plc,  Laurel  House,  3
     Woodlands Park, Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows, WA12 0HH.

3.   The proposed final dividend, if approved, will be paid on  15
     May 2000 to shareholders registered on 14 April 2000.

4.   The  Annual  General Meeting will be held at  the  registered
     office,  Laurel House, 3 Woodlands Park, Ashton Road, Newton-
     le-Willows, WA12 0HH on Wednesday 10 May 2000 at 11am.