Soft drinks producer Britvic has reported a 18.5% increase in revenue in the first half of its financial year, to £719.3 million (€854.97 million).
As a result of the strong performance, the group is commencing an initial share buyback programme of £75 million over the next 12 months.
Volume and Pricing Growth
Britvic enjoyed double-digit revenue growth in the period, with volume and pricing growth across all business units.
There was continued growth in At-Home channels, with Out-of-Home channels recovering back towards pre-COVID levels, as the hospitality sector opened up. Immediate consumption volumes were reported ahead of pre-COVID levels.
Britvic was able to mitigate the impact of inflation due to efforts in pricing activity, promotional strategy, management of product mix, and disciplined cost control, it added.
Simon Litherland, chief executive officer, Britvic, said "I am delighted with our first half performance. We have accelerated revenue growth across our markets and made good progress against our strategic priorities. We have successfully executed pricing and cost actions to mitigate significant levels of inflation, while continuing to rebuild investment to support our near and longer-term growth ambitions."
Litherland added that the the current geo-political uncertainty is "likely to result in continued cost inflation and pressure on consumer spending at least into 2023. I remain confident however that we will continue to successfully navigate the headwinds, thanks to our portfolio of leading brands, strong customer relationships, smart revenue management capability and the resilience of our supply chain and our people.
"This will enable us to maintain our positive momentum, progress our key performance metrics and strategic priorities, and continue to create value for all our stakeholders."
Read More: Britvic Boosted By 'Strong Demand' For Its Products In First Quarter
Progress was made towards Britvic's strategic objectives, the company said, with additional production capacity in GB and Brazil now operational.
The group reported strong momentum across its core brands, with innovation coming in the form of core brand extensions, new flavours, and new pack formats.
Analyst Viewpoint
Commenting on the group's performance, Sara Welford, director at Edison Group said, "H122 was characterised by double-digit revenue growth and volume and price growth across all business units and strong momentum across its core brands. Growth continued in the at-home channels, whilst out-of-home continued to recover towards pre-pandemic levels. Immediate consumption levels are now ahead of where they were pre-pandemic.
"The company has successfully implemented both pricing and cost actions to mitigate cost inflation, while continuing to rebuild investment and to support the business. Management expects the current geo-political situation to result in continued cost inflation and pressure on consumer spending at least until 2023, although the company expects to be able to continue to successfully navigate these headwinds."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest A-Brands news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
