Britvic.........

Britvic PLC is one the two leading soft drinks companies in the UK. It was floated after InterContinental Hotels, Whitbread and Pernod Ricard SA sold 181m share. Britvic is one of the two leading soft drinks businesses in Great Britain by both volume and retail sales value, with many of its brands being number one or two in their respective sub-categories. The Company is the number one supplier to the GB licensed on-trade and number two in the GB take-home. Its brand include Pepsi, Robinsons, Tango, Britvic, J2O and Fruit Shoot.




DAILY INTRADAY CHART.......

Looks to have finally cleared 360.

Interim Results.

Group Financial Headlines:

· Group revenue up 1.7% to £641.1m
· Group EBITA down 6.9% to £41.9m, EBITA margin down 60bps due to impact of 2011 higher raw material costs before the implementation of 2012 price increase
· Fixed costs down 3.3% (actual exchange rate)
· Underlying free cash flow improved by 26.6%
· Group adjusted net debt down by £21.6m to £534.4m
· Interim dividend per share up by 3.9% to 5.3p

Group Business Highlights:

· GB revenue growth of 2.4%, led by carbonates +6.7% gaining further market share
· Britvic France revenue up 6.4%, led by strong price growth of 11.5%(7)
· International delivered double-digit revenue growth, driven by US Fruit Shoot and expansion into new states, including Texas, increasing number of US states to 8
· Britvic Ireland, further decisive action taken on costs to mitigate declining top line

In extended auction -

Update Statement Re: Robinsons Fruit Shoot and Fruit Shoot Hydro Product Recall and Current Trading

12 month low just touched @254.80p 250.40p. Worth a punt?

Interim Management Statement

· Group Q3 performance was materially impacted by:

§ Very poor weather experienced during the quarter
§ The product recall of Fruit Shoot and Fruit Shoot Hydro, impacting the group Q3 revenue growth by around 2%[2]

· Group Q3 revenue declined by 5.1% at constant currency, with a negative currency impact of 2.5% in the quarter resulting in a revenue decline of 7.6% on an actual exchange rate basis

· Continued average realised price growth in France, up 6.9% with revenue growth of 4.3%

· Strong progress of Fruit Shoot in the USA, which is unaffected by the recall, continues

GB Q3 revenue declined by 6.9% (ytd: -0.8%). ARP (average realised price) growth of 0.2% is constrained by adverse channel and brand mix, whilst volumes declined by 7.1%.

§ GB carbonates ARP grew by 1.6% while volumes were down by 4.4% resulting in a revenue decline of 3.0%. Pepsi's market share of the take-home cola market, as measured by Nielsen, has grown again during the quarter in both volume and value.

§ Stills volume, materially impacted by the Fruit Shoot recall, declined by 13.3% while ARP increased by 1.1% leading to a revenue decline of 12.3%. The poor weather and adverse channel mix has materially affected the performance of J20 in the quarter, whilst Robinsons has shown encouraging market share gains in the last 12 weeks.

Ireland Q3 revenue declined by 11.1% (ytd: -10.3%) as a result of volumes down 7.6% and ARP down 4.2%. Price deflation continues with increased promotional intensity and adverse channel mix as the grocery channel performed better than the impulse and pub and club channels.

France Q3 revenue grew by 4.3% (ytd: +5.7%) with volume down by 2.4%. Strong ARP growth continued in the quarter at 6.9% as a result of our price increase and pack size changes implemented earlier in the year.

International Q3 revenue declined by 1.3% (ytd: +6.2%). Franchise has made continued progress in the quarter with strong sales to the US, which was unaffected by the recall of Fruit Shoot. However the Fruit Shoot recall has materially impacted the export markets of the business unit, especially in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Capital guidance: We have taken decisive action in response to the Fruit Shoot recall to support the ongoing cash generation of the business, consequently we now expect group capex for 2012 to be approximately £50 million. We are reviewing our plans for 2013 and expect a reduction versus previous guidance including the deferral of both the SAP implementation and a new Fruit Shoot line in France until 2014 at the earliest.

Damn damn damn!

I've missed it as well. But it's in my watch list and a good 6.55% divi.

Statement re Possible Offer

The Boards of Britvic and A.G. Barr note the recent press speculation and confirm that, following an approach by A.G. Barr to Britvic, they are in preliminary discussions which may or may not result in an all share merger of A.G. Barr and Britvic.

A merger would create one of the leading soft drinks companies in Europe, with a strong portfolio of market leading brands. The combination would have compelling industrial logic and represents an opportunity for both companies to enhance their industry position, and achieve significant synergies and shareholder value.

Discussions are at an early stage and, whilst there can be no certainty at this stage that such discussions will conclude successfully, agreement has been reached with respect to certain key aspects of the merger.

It is agreed that Britvic shareholders would own 63% and A.G. Barr shareholders 37% of the enlarged group's share capital.

The Board of Directors would be drawn equally from the Boards of both companies. Roger White, CEO of A.G. Barr, would become CEO of the combined group and John Gibney, CFO of Britvic, would become CFO. Gerald Corbett, Chairman of Britvic, would become Chairman of the Board of the combined group, and Ronnie Hanna, Chairman of A.G. Barr, would become Deputy Chairman. In addition, the new Board would comprise six other non-executive directors, three nominated from each of Britvic and A.G. Barr.

Agggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh. it was written.

It must be hard being a broker!!!

Canaccord Genuity Hold upgrades it's TP from 200p to 350p

And here's to you Mrs. Robinson... hot stuff loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)

This is the second time I have loved Mrs. Robinson…an older women…but I do have a crush on her!!!

Wey hey tabby's back.

Dil…never been away…just don’t do much these days…always been a tad lucky…

Ahhhh…the joys of being an investor…the woes of being a trader? Mrs Robinson’s short squeeze has always been a nice cocktail…A Boom Shaka Laka!

Toodle pip! …all the very best to you…

Update on possible merger

52 Week Trading Update to 30 Sept 2012

Full year:


· Group revenue of £1,256.4m, a decline of 0.8% at a constant exchange rate, due primarily to the Fruit Shoot recall which materially impacted GB stills performance as well as International and France. Revenue declined 2.6% at the actual exchange rate

· As anticipated the product recall impacted group revenue growth by approximately 2%

· A strong performance in GB carbonates with revenue growth of 3.1%

· Britvic Ireland revenue declined by 9.6%

· Strong pricing growth in France of 10.9%, resulted in revenue growth of 8.0%

Quarter four:


· Group revenue declined by 1.9% on a constant exchange rate and 4.9% on an actual exchange rate basis

· Fruit Shoot re-supply commenced within the six week timeframe previously guided and we remain on track to meet historic levels of supply by January 2013

· GB carbonates continued to take both volume and value market share, led by Pepsi

· Strong revenue growth of 13.3% in France was driven by continued pricing growth and a strong performance from our syrup brands

Merger discussions:

Following the announcement of a potential all share merger with A.G. Barr p.l.c., it is confirmed that talks are on-going

Update on possible merger



Further to the announcement by the Boards of Britvic and A.G. Barr on 3 October and in accordance with Rule 2.6(a) of the Code, each of Britvic and A.G. Barr are required, by not later than 5.00 pm on 31 October 2012, either to announce a firm intention to make an offer for A.G. Barr or Britvic (as appropriate) in accordance with Rule 2.7 of the Code or announce that it does not intend to make such an offer, in which case the announcement will be treated as a statement to which Rule 2.8 of the Code applies.

Substantial progress has been made and the two parties are now at an advanced stage of discussions, which are ongoing. Consequently, at the request of the Boards of Britvic and A.G. Barr, the Takeover Panel has consented to an extension of this deadline until 5.00pm on 28 November 2012.

This announcement has been made with the agreement of Britvic and A.G. Barr.

AG Barr and Britvic agree to merger

Soft drink rivals AG Barr and Britvic have agreed the terms of a merger which creates one of Europe's largest soft drinks companies.

The takeover panel had given the companies an extended deadline of 28 November to announce their intentions.

Irn Bru maker AG Barr and Tango producer Britvic opened discussions about a merger in September.

The new combined company will be called Barr Britvic Soft Drinks plc and will have annual sales of more than £1.5bn.

Preliminary Results - 52 Weeks ended 30 Sept 2012

Group Financial headlines:

· Revenue down 0.8% to £1,256.4m. The Fruit Shoot recall constrained revenue growth by approximately 2%
· EBITA of £115.6m including costs associated with the Fruit Shoot recall of £16.9m with the balance of up to £8m to come in 2013
· Rigorous cost discipline and a focus on cash generation contributed to a reduction in net debt
· Full year dividend maintained at prior year level of 17.7p per share

Group Business Highlights:

· GB Business takes market share led by carbonates and Pepsi
· Fruit Shoot re-entry plan on-track
· Robinsons take-home value market share back to its highs of 2 years ago
· Agreement signed with the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia for the distribution of Fruit Shoot in Virginia
· France syrup brands take further market share

BVIC seems to have come off worse on yesterday's news - I'm sure there potential here!