Sun shines on Britvic as sales lift in Britain

SOFT DRINKS group Britvic said revenue rose 6.5 per cent in the three months to July 9, as a sunny month of June lifted sales in Britain and international markets.

Total revenue for the third quarter of its financial year rose to £384.6m, from £346.3m a year earlier, the company said.

Sales in Britain, which accounts for nearly 60 per cent of Britvic’s total revenue, rose 4.9 per cent to £225.3m, as demand for its carbonates like Pepsi Max and 7UP rose.

The Robinsons squash maker said international revenue rose to £15.7m.

However, Britvic reiterated its warning that market conditions in Brazil remained challenging.

Britvic, which has a bottling plant in Leeds, earlier this year acquired Brazilian juice firm Bela Ischia for £54.5m.

The FTSE 250 drinks maker said it remained on track to achieve market expectations for the year.

Simon Litherland, chief executive of Britvic, said: “Our business is in good shape, we have continued to execute our strategic priorities and deliver a robust performance, whilst taking proactive action to successfully mitigate external headwinds.

“Trading in the third quarter has been strong with group volumes, ARP (Average Realised Price) and revenue ahead of last year, driven by a range of factors including our focus on growth channels, successful revenue management, delivery of our business capability programme and favourable weather.”