Britvic fizzes on Pepsi market share

25th Jan 2012 07:04

Soft drinks maker and bottler Britvic said carbonated drinks put some fizz into its Christmas trading, led by a strong gain in take-home market share for Pepsi-Cola (which it produces under licence from American giant, PepsiCo).Revenue for the final three months of 2011 rose 2.5% from a year earlier, driven by growth in Great Britain, France and its International markets, but the results were soured by Ireland's performance; the value of sales in Ireland declined by 10.0% on a 0.2% decline in sales volumes.Total revenue for the period was £295.2m with GB Carbonates up 5.8%, while France grew at 12.1%, mainly on the back of price increases related to the increased costs of raw materials, which Britvic was unafraid to pass on to consumers.The GB business saw the strength of the Pepsi brand augmented by heavy promotional activity. It's worth noting the average realised price across all GB products grew 0.2%, against the equivalent period of 2010, when prices gained 4.6%. The company's stills drinks, such as Robinsons orange squash, were down 1.7% which Britvic described as "an improving performance".The International division saw revenues rise at just 1.7% but ascribes this to the different timing of concentrate shipments to Australia compared to the previous year. The group maintains its guidance that full year revenue growth will be 20%. The International division is, however, tiny, generating just £5.9m in the quarter.In Ireland, Britvic says half the 10% revenue decline is attributable to the third-party brands, largely alcohol, which it distributes via the licensed wholesale business. The company's Chief Executive, Paul Moody, said Britvic full year results would be in line with expectations but said he expects "the general economic and trading environments to remain challenging".Investors gave today's update a cautious welcome, with Britvic shares gaining 1% by 8:45am. Over the last 12 months the stock has declined 24%.