Tuesday preview: AG Barr to update on Irn-Bru invasion

26th Sep 2011 17:56

Scotland is the only country in the world where Coca-Cola is not the market leading fizzy pop drink, and it is also down to the success of Irn-Bru, the drinking man's morning-after pick-me-up, concocted by AG Barr. Panmure Gordon thinks the Scottish company's half-year performance will have been held back by what it loosely describes as "headwinds" in the sector - presumably a reluctance on the part of consumers to put their hands in their pocket and buy a can of pop when getting their fish supper at the chippie, not to mention some miserable weather. "Revenue growth has already been indicated at c3.5% to £123m and we forecast 3% growth in adjusted PBT [profit before tax] to £12.1m equating to 4% EPS [earnings per share] growth to 31.8p," the broker said. "We forecast carbonates growth of 4% to £95.5m and Stills growth of 2% to £27.6m. We forecast overall gross profit margins to be 30bp [three-tenths of a percentage point] lower at 51.0% as rising input costs more than offset cost efficiencies. We forecast Carbonates gross profits of £54.4m and Stills gross profits of £8.3m resulting in group gross profits increasing 3% to £63m," the broker continued. "We expect the company to provide an update on the success being made by its strategic investment in its core brands in specific regions, such as IRN-BRU in the North of England. We also look for confirmation that it has overcome the operational issues with the final stages of investment at Cumbernauld, which should contribute to production capacity and efficiency improvements over the medium term," Panmure Gordon said.INTERIMSAdventis Group, AG Barr, Augean, Beacon Hill Resources, Futura Medical, Game Group, Moss Bros Group, Straight, TreveriaINTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSSmall Business Confidence (JPN)German GfK Consumer Confidence Survey (07:00)Small Business Confidence (JPN)M3 Money Supply (EU) (09:00)Import Prices (GER)Consumer Confidence (US) (15:00)Richmond Fed Manufacturing Activity (US) (15:00)FINALSAI Claims Solutions, Albemarle & Bond Holdings, Close Brothers Group, CVS GroupEGMSNB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd GBP, NB Global Floating Rate Income Fund Ltd USD, Scotty GroupAGMSAbsolute Return Trust Ltd. GBP Shares, DQ Entertainment, Impact Holdings, OPG Power VenturesTRADING ANNOUNCEMENTSTopps TilesUK ECONOMIC ANNOUNCEMENTSCBI Distributive Trades Surveys (11:00)FINAL DIVIDEND PAYMENT DATEBloomsbury Publishing