Jobs blow at Irn-Bru firm after figures lose sparkle
IRN-Bru makers AG Barr looks set to cut 90 jobs after announcing a fall in revenues.
The Cumbernauld-based drink firm, which also produces Rubicon, Strathmore Water and Funkin cocktail mixers, said the job losses were part of a drive to improve its ‘services, efficiency and speed to market’.
It has been reported that the shakeup will create annual savings of £3m for the firm.
The announcement came as AG Barr confirmed it has suffered a drop in sales during the last six months, with revenues falling 3.6 per cent.
A spokesman said: “Our organisational restructure is likely to impact around 10 per cent of our total employee base, and as such around 90 job losses are possible across our commercial, supply chain and central functions. Subject to consultation, we expect that the majority of the changes will be implemented before the end of the current financial year.”
The company’s overall revenue fell from £130.3m to £125.6m during the six months to the end of July. Like-forlike revenues dropped 2.8 per cent. However, its profits increased to £17m from £16.9m during the same period in 2015.
A spokesman told the Financial Times: “In line with general market trends, lower and no sugar products have performed better as consumers respond to the significant weight of negative media coverage pointed towards added sugar products particularly in the last six months.”
The company said it had been a solid first-half performance, despite a “challenging customer and consumer environment” as well as poor weather in the early summer months.
There were strong performances from parts of the business, including a 28 per cent rise in revenue for its Funkin cocktail mixer arm, driven by distribution gains in the UK and the US.
Its international business has also saw revenue up by 16 per cent.