Interim Management Statement.
Britvic plc ("Britvic") Quarter 1 Interim Management Statement 25th January 20121
· Group Q1 revenue increased by 2.5%, driven by growth in GB, France and International
· GB take-home channel share gain
· Strong carbonates revenue growth, led by substantial Pepsi share gain
· Continued double-digit revenue growth in France, driven by pricing growth
· Pension funding partnership will be successfully implemented by end of January 2012
GB revenue grew by 2.8%. Britvic achieved take-home market volume and value share gains in the important Christmas quarter. Carbonates performed particularly strongly with revenue growth of 5.8%, led by Pepsi, which substantially grew its market share of the take-home cola market. With our increased year on year promotional activity in the quarter, carbonates ARP growth was 0.2%, which builds on the strong prior year Q1 comparative of +4.6%. GB stills showed an improving performance compared to recent quarterly trends, with revenue declining by 1.7%.
Ireland revenue declined by 10.0%. Volume was down 0.2% and ARP (excluding third party products) was down by 5.3% due to both promotional intensity and adverse mix. Britvic Ireland held value share of the take-home market. Half of the 10% revenue decline is attributable to the third-party brands, largely alcohol, which we distribute via the licensed wholesale business where the on-to-off trade shift was especially marked.
France revenue grew by 12.6%. Strong revenue performance was driven by the achievement of significant price increases to cover raw material inflation, leading to ARP growth of 14.7%. Our volume and value market share of syrups has further increased.
International revenue grew by 1.7%. The single-digit revenue growth in Q1 and ARP decline reflects the different timing of concentrate shipments to Australia compared to the stock build last year and the phasing of promotional activity in export markets. The prior year Q1 revenue comparative was 41.5%. We remain on track to achieve full year revenue growth guidance of 20%.
Paul Moody, Chief Executive, commented:
"Our GB, French and International business units have again delivered positive revenue growth and we continue to compete strongly and effectively in each of our markets.
We expect the general economic and trading environments to remain challenging but, despite this caution, we are confident in our ability to deliver another solid set of results for the year ahead, in line with our expectations."
[1] All numbers and comparisons are quoted on a constant exchange rate basis. Volume and ARP are adjusted for the impact of double concentrate on Robinsons and MiWadi to provide a meaningful comparison. Numbers not adjusted for double concentrate are available on the Britvic Investor Relations website at www.britvic.com