Irish revenues up 23% at Ballygowan owner Britvic
Ballygowan and Mi Wadi owner Britvic saw underlying Irish revenues grow 23pc in the six months to end-March as pubs and restaurants reopened.
Rising costs prompted a price hike early in the year, with chief executive Simon Litherland warning of “continued cost inflation and pressure on consumer spending” into 2023.
Double-digit revenue growth continued across the group into April, Britvic said.
Both at-home trade and revenue from hotels, cafes, bars and restaurants in Ireland recorded double-digit growth in the six months to April, Britvic said Tuesday in its interim results on Tuesday.
The Irish business “delivered a significant improvement in operating margin” Britvic said in a statement, with growth in the market helped by the launch of two energy drinks last year.
Britvic – which owns the Pepsi, Tango, 7UP, Lipton and Robinsons brands in the UK – brought in price increases in the first quarter to offset rising costs, it said.
British revenues grew 19.3pc in the six months to end-March, Britvic said, with Brazilian revenues up 15pc and continued growth in France.
Overall group revenues were up 18.5pc to £719.3m in the six-month period, with profits after tax rising 48.7pc to £45.8m.
It allowed the group to announce a £75m share buyback programme to be carried out over the next 12 months.
Britvic has also increased its interim dividend by 20pc to 7.8 pence sterling, with adjusted earnings per share rising to 19.4 pence, up 27.8pc.
Chief executive officer Simon Litherland said he was “delighted” with the first half performance but said costs were likely to rise further, while inflation could put pressure on consumer demand.
“We have accelerated revenue growth across our markets and made good progress against our strategic priorities.
“We have successfully executed pricing and cost actions to mitigate significant levels of inflation, while continuing to rebuild investment to support our near and longer-term growth ambitions.
“The current geo-political uncertainty is likely to result in continued cost inflation and pressure on consumer spending at least into 2023.
“I remain confident however that we will continue to successfully navigate the headwinds, thanks to our portfolio of leading brands, strong customer relationships, smart revenue management capability and the resilience of our supply chain and our people.
