Britvic confident on outlook

Soft drinks maker Britvic said profits for the first half are up 13.2 per cent and is confident of delivering on full-year expectations.

Last year's wet summer meant the soft drinks market suffered from a lack of thirsty customers, but indicators for this year are more positive and volumes are up 19.9 per cent, Britvic said in an interim statement.

Pre-tax profit for the 28 weeks to April 13th was £17.2 million, on revenues of £454.7 million, the company added.

Britvic, which operates the UK franchise for Pepsi, said growth in carbonated drinks is still low, only 0.4 per cent ahead of last year, but still-drinks sales grew by 2.8 per cent over the period.

Overall, the still market is down 1.1 per cent after last year's poor summer and a cold Easter, according to the company.

Strong post-Christmas trade in carbonated drinks was offset by a weak performance in the licensed on-premise market, Britvic said. Pubs have been reporting an overall decline in sales due to the smoking ban and more recently, the credit crunch.

The company said it lost out in Christmas sales as other brands stepped up their promotional activity – but has made up for it with a high-profile TV advertising campaign featuring David Beckham and other renowned footballers.

Chief executive Paul Moody said: "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.

"The board remains confident that we will deliver on our full year expectations."

Britvic is paying an interim dividend of 3.8 pence, up 15.2 per cent on the previous year.

The confident outlook was received well by investors, and shares in Britvic rose in morning trading by 2.38 per cent to 333.250 pence per share on the London Stock Exchange.