Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr has appointed former Saga Plc boss Euan Sutherland, a veteran in the consumer goods industry, as its next chief executive officer, effective from 1 May.
Sutherland, 55, was most recently group CEO of the over-50s holiday and insurance group Saga and had previously held the top role at fashion retailer Superdry and The Co-op Group.
He has also held the chief operating officer position at home improvement firm Kingfisher Plc.
Sutherland had launched a new strategy at Saga and also steered the holiday company through the pandemic during his tenure as CEO for close to four years.
A.G. Barr had said last August that CEO Roger White would step down within a year.
Annual Profit
Separately, the beverage firm forecast an about 14% rise in annual profit at £49.5 million (€58.02 million), slightly ahead of market view, partly helped by strength in its speciality coffee business and price hikes.
It expects revenue to amount to approximately £400 million (€468.9 million) for the 52 weeks to 28 January, registering a 7.6% increase on a like-for-like basis. It excludes the contribution from the Boost Drinks business acquired in December 2022.
Commenting on the performance, White stated, "This strong trading performance, coupled with the benefits already being delivered by our margin rebuild programme, has ensured we close the year with a strong profit performance and confidence in the Group's long-term growth strategy."
According to an analyst note from Shore Capital, the relatively recent acquisitions of Boost, Rio and MOMA in tow and accelerated in-house manufacturing, coupled with the much-enhanced visibility post the scrapping of the SDRS, AG Barr is entering a stronger growth phase over the short and medium term with healthy upside risk to medium-term forecasts.
A.G. Barr will publish full-year results on 26 March 2024.
News by Reuters, additional reporting by ESM
