C&C profits to be at upper end

27th Aug 2009 15:06

Long suffering shareholders in slumping Magners cider maker C&C got some good news Thursday when the company said operating profit for the current year will be at the top end of market expectations.The company, which embarrassingly had to own up to an accounting error in June which led to it erroneously reporting an increase in like-for-like sales, said operating profit for the financial year to end-February 2010 will be at the top end of the previously stated guidance range of €77m to €82m, once the impact of the proposed acquisition of the Irish, Northern Irish and Scottish businesses of AB InBev is stripped out.In the five months to the end of July revenues fell 5% on a constant currency basis from the corresponding period of 2008, with cider sales down 4% in value terms while revenue from Spirits and Liqueurs tumbled 22%.Cider sales by volume increased by 3% but Spirits and Liqueurs volumes fell 17%. The company attributed the fall in spirits and liqueurs volumes to customers running down inventories, but said there are signs that destocking is coming to an end.