AG Barr shares fall on profit dip

24th Jul 2015 09:03

(ShareCast News) - Shares in drinks owner AG Barr fell after it said first-half profits would drop by about 5% compared with the year before.The stock fell by 2.05% to 620p at 0818 BST after the company said tough prior year comparatives, promotional phasing and poor weather contributed to the profit dip.The company said in a pre-close trading update half year sales revenue was expected at approximately £128m. It said on an ongoing basis with allowances for the loss of Orangin and divestment of Findlays, sales were down by about 3.5%."Market conditions have remained competitive with ongoing deflation across the soft drinks market and continued high levels of price promotion," the company said in a statement.AG Barr said it planned to regain momentum and to meet expectations for the full-year.Shore Capital kept its 'hold' recommendation on the stock and cut its full year expectations for the company to £43.7m from £44.7m."We anticipate a stronger trading performance in H2 but we note the competitive landscape remains challenging," analyst Phil Carroll said.N+1 Capital retained its 'sell' rating and said the update was worse than expected."The first half trading update is worse than we feared with a couple of additional negative drags in the period compounding top-line challenges," analysts said in a note.