Irish revenues fall 2.2% at Britvic

Revenues at Britvic Ireland plc fell 12.5% to €88.5 million (£79.3m) in the six months to the end of March this year compared to €101 million (£90.6m) in the 28 weeks to April the 14th 2019 according to Britvic’s Interim Results published this morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fall in revenue was ascribed to “a significant decline in sales through the Counterpoint licensed wholesale business”.

Britvic’s statement blamed this on the trading restrictions imposed on the Irish on-trade due to the Coronavirus.

“This has significantly impacted the Counterpoint business and a £8.5m non-cash impairment charge has been recognised to write-off the intangible assets, goodwill and PPE relating to Counterpoint,” it stated.

Volumes for the supplier of brands such as Ballygowan, London Essence and 7Up here too fell by 2.8% compared to the 2019 figure.

Britvic Ireland enjoyed revenues (excluding the Sugar Sweetened Drinks Tax) of €205.5 million (£175.8m) in the full year to the 29th September last year, up 1.0% from the previous year’s €203.4 million (£174.0m).

With the exception of one factory in Ireland which has been closed “temporarily”, all of Britvic’s factories remain operational.

Overall, Britvic plc’s H1 revenues were down 9.1% (or up by 1.4% at constant exchange rates) in the six months ended 31^st March 2020 set against the 28 weeks ending on the 14^th March 2019.

Britvic’s Chief Executive Simon Litherland commented, “We started the year with strong momentum, reporting on the 31 January that Q1 revenue was 2.6% ahead of last year. During the second quarter the Covid-19 epidemic started to have an impact across our business units, most significantly in the GB and Ireland markets, where we have a strong presence in the Out-of-Home sector. Despite this impact, we have reported a first half revenue increase of 1.4%”.

Britvic will publish its quarter three trading statement on the 22^nd of July.