TOP NEWS: Britvic Annual Profit Rises; Declares Final Dividend

(Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed Britvic PLC on Thursday reported a small rise in annual profit ...

Alliance News 26 November, 2020 | 9:17AM
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(Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed Britvic PLC on Thursday reported a small rise in annual profit and has declared a final dividend after skipping its interim payout.

Shares in the soft drinks maker were 3.2% higher in London on Thursday morning at 836.50 pence each.

In the year to September 30, pretax profit rose slightly to GBP111.2 million from GBP110.3 million. Revenue, however, slipped 9.0% to GBP1.41 billion from GBP1.55 billion.

Administration expenses fell to GBP201.1 million from GBP256.1 million.

Britvic deferred its decision on distributing an interim dividend, but has chosen to declare a 21.6 pence final dividend - which maintains the firm's 50% payout policy. In financial 2019, Britvic declared a 21.7p final dividend, giving it a 30.0p full-year payout.

"While none of us would have wished for the challenging circumstances 2020 has brought, I am very proud of how we have responded as a business and delivered on the priorities we set ourselves at the start of the pandemic," Chief Executive Simon Litherland said.

He continued: "Our determined and dedicated people, portfolio of trusted brands, strong commercial relationships and operational agility mean we have performed strongly where we have been able to compete. We also continue to navigate the changing landscape successfully. So, even though out-of-home trading has inevitably been impacted, we have continued to gain market share in our key growth markets of GB and Brazil, and we have successfully protected cash and our overall financial strength."

In its GB unit, Britvic's like-for-like volume slipped 2.2% to 1.62 billion litres from 1.66 billion litres. The average realised price per litre dropped 4.4% to 54.6 pence.

In Brazil, volume like-for-like volume improved 13% to 251.0 million litres from 222.2 million litres. The average realised price per litre dropped 20% to 45.1p.

The Rest of World division recorded a 6.4% drop in volume to 469.8 million litres, with average realised price per litre falling 3.5% to 27.6p.

Looking ahead, Britvic said it has started the new financial year with some form of restrictions on either trading and the movement of people in all of its markets. The company said this will "undoubtedly continue to affect performance", especially in the first half of the financial year.

Litherland added: "At the same time, we have also made considerable progress executing our strategy and we are well-positioned to drive future growth and returns. We have extended our GB carbonates relationship with PepsiCo to 2040 and expanded our presence in the energy category through the addition of their Rockstar brand. We have accelerated our sustainable business commitments and completed the disposal of non-core assets in France, which will result in more focus on growing our higher margin brands there.

"While 2021 will bring continued uncertainty, it also presents real opportunity for Britvic to capitalise on the trends which have accelerated as a result of the pandemic. We are confident that we will continue to react with agility and pace as events unfold. Soft drinks has repeatedly proved itself to be a highly resilient category, and we fully intend to be at the forefront of its recovery."

By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
Britvic PLC 912.00 GBX 1.05 -

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