Britvic boosted revenue by 4.8% to £311.6M for the 12 weeks to December 20 2015, compared with the same period last year.
But, organic revenue – not including growth from acquisitions – fell by 2.4% to £290.1M.
Britvic completed its acquisition of Brazilian firm EBBA (Empresa Brasileira de Bebidas e Alimentos SA) for £120.8M on September 30 2015.
Challenging trading conditions
Britvic’s ceo Simon Litherland said the firm’s first quarter performance in Brazil and the UK was in line with expectations.
“As anticipated, our first quarter performance reflected both the prevailing challenging trading conditions and a slow start in October,” he said.
“However trading over the entire Christmas period in our core markets was encouraging, with revenue ahead of last year, and in the quarter, we grew or held market value share in each of these markets.”
With strong marketing and innovation plans for the year ahead, and an ongoing focus on cost control, Litherland reaffirmed Britvic’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation guidance range of £180M to £190M for 2016.
Britvic and AG Barr - at a glance
Britvic
- Revenue up 4.8%
- Key brands: 7 Up, Robinsons, Tango, J20, Pepsi Max
- Presence in more than 50 countries
AG Barr
- £257M
- Key brands: Irn Bru, Rubicon, Snapple, Strathmore
- 11 sites across the UK
AG Barr’s ‘solid performance’
AG Barr predicted revenue growth for the final quarter of the year to exceed 2.5%.
City analyst Capital Capital described this as a “solid performance” during a “highly competitive” market over the festive season.
But, for the 53 weeks to January 30, AG Barr’s revenue is expected to be down from last year’s £209.9M to £257M.
Shore Capital forecasted a 30 basis points improvement in the group operating margin, pre exceptional costs, year-on-year to 16.4%.
Its analyst Phil Carroll said: “Taking into account the company’s strong track record of delivery, an excellent brand portfolio and a robust balance sheet, we believe the current valuation looks attractive.”
AG Barr also looks set to benefit from the completion of its ongoing investment at the Milton Keynes site where warehouse capacity is being increased and the installation of a new high-speed glass filling capability at the Cumbernauld site.