Sales bubbling at Britvic

23rd Jul 2010 07:37

Hemel Hempstead based soft drinks maker Britvic hailed robust top line growth in its third quarter.Group revenue, including a one month contribution from the recently constituted French division, totalled £289.5m in the April to June quarter, up 16.2% on the corresponding period of last year.With the French business stripped out revenue increased by 6.9%.Britvic France, the newly-created division comprising Fruité Entreprises SA, contributed revenue of £23.2m for the month of June following completion of the acquisition at the end of May 2010. This was in line with expectations.In the year to date, group revenue (including Britvic France) increased by 8.5% to £794.8m, with the underlying GB, International and Irish businesses delivering a revenue increase of 5.4%. GB & International revenues in the year to date grew by 8.0% to £638.8m. Britvic Ireland's sterling-based revenues were up 8.6% in the quarter, leading to a decelerating year-to-date decline of 5.7%.In terms of volumes, the carbonated drinks division in Great Britain is still outstripping the stills division.GB Carbonates' volumes were up 13.8% year on year in the company's third quarter, whereas GB Stills' volumes were down 0.7%, though still up by 1.9% on a year to date basis.International volumes rose 18.6% year on year in the third quarter while Ireland's volumes rose 15%.Both the GB Stills and Carbonates businesses saw a 0.7% reduction in the average realised price (ARP) compared to a year earlier while the ARP in the International division fell 4.4% and in Ireland fell 1.0%."We continue to remain cautious about consumer sentiment in our trading territories, but as a result of our strong performance in the quarter and in the year to date, the board remains confident of meeting current market expectations for the full 2010 financial year," said Paul Moody, chief executive of Britvic.