UK's largest drinks retailer hit £350m in Q1 revenues, performing well in all markets
Companies: Britvic plc
Soft drinks manufactory and retailer Britvic has reported a solid start to 2017, with first quarter revenues hitting £351m and volume growth of 3.9%.
Britvic, which is the UK's largest soft drinks manufacturer and distributor, reported a 2.2% increase in revenue vs FY16. Growth was primarily delivered from the convenience and foodservice channels as the groceries channel remained subdued during the period.
French revenues jumped 6.3%, primarily driven by Britvic's branded portfolio (Fruit Shoot and Pressade). Whilst in Ireland revenue also jumped more than 6%, with Ballygowan Water the strongest performer.
The biggest growth was seen in its international division which grew 20%, the majority of which came from Fruit Shoot in the United States.
Broker Whitman Howard said the results were a good start to the year but cautioned that it was Britvic's least important trading period:
"Britvic (BVIC LN, BUY, T/P 800p) FY2017 Q1 trading statement reported a strong start to the year. However, we note that given the nature of the business, the opening 3 months of the year are its least important trading period. Its £351m of reported revenue beat our £341m estimate and grew 4.3% from a year earlier."
Chief Exec Simon Litherland said the financial year had started well, with all key markets delivering revenue growth:
"The new financial year has started well with group revenue 4.3% ahead of last year, continuing the good progress we made as a business in the prior year. Encouragingly all our key markets have delivered revenue growth."
Despite the external environment remaining uncertain for Britvic, Mr Litherland said he was confident that the firm would deliver in-line results for the full year:
"Whilst the external environment remains uncertain, we are confident that the strong execution of our marketing and innovation plans combined with disciplined revenue management and our cost saving initiatives will deliver full year results in line with market expectations."
Britvic shares opened up c.4% on Tuesday.