British soft drink maker Britvic today reported a 20.8% rise in adjusted pretax profits of £45.3 million for the first half of the year.
It reported a 14% rise in first-half operating profit, broadly in line with an average analyst forecast.
Britvic said that revenue in the 28-week period to 13 April rose 4.7% year-on-year to £670.7 million.
Group earnings before interest, tax and amortization or EBITA of £60.5 million was up 12.9% on last year, helped by revenue growth and tight cost control.
In the six months, revenue from its home market increased 6.8% to £284.6 million, while sales in France reached £127.4 million.
Chief Executive Officer Simon Litherland said, "This has been another period of solid progress for our business, as we continue to implement the strategy we announced last year. We have delivered strong revenue, profit and margin growth in the first half of the year and our cost-saving programme continues to gain traction across our business."
Along with the publishing of its interim figures, Britvic announced that its Fruit Shoot brand was available across the US.
"This is another important milestone toward establishing the brand as a leader in the kids' drinks category," said Litherland.
Litherland went on to say that it hopes to franchise brands such as Fruit Shoot and Robinsons Squash in both developed and emerging markets over the coming years.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
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