IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
30 July 2024
A.G. BARR p.l.c.
("A.G. BARR" or "the
business")
Strong Revenue Growth And Margin Rebuild
On Track
A.G. BARR p.l.c., the branded multi-beverage
business with a portfolio of market-leading UK brands, today
announces a trading update for the 26 weeks ended 27 July
2024.
Headlines
- A.G. BARR: H1 revenue growth of c.5% of
which Soft Drinks growth was c.7%
- IRN-BRU: growth in volume and value
supported by a highly successful Euros media
campaign
- Rubicon: double digit growth with
innovation, marketing investment and new distribution
gains
- Boost: margin realignment and business
integration on plan, production sourcing programme
underway
Euan
Sutherland, Chief Executive, commented:
"I am pleased to report overall H1
revenue growth of c.5% with Soft Drinks growth of
c.7%, against strong prior year
comparatives. The strategic margin rebuild programmes are on plan, guidance on revenue and margin
remains unchanged, and we are on track to meet FY
expectations*.
Our four power brands - IRN-BRU,
Rubicon, Boost and FUNKIN - have clear paths to long term growth,
supported by strong innovation programmes across all of our
portfolio and opportunities to work even more closely to add value
to our customers, in all channels.
We continue to invest in our
supply chain which will deliver tangible benefits as we insource
more of our volume, build capacity to support our growth plans,
improve resilience and enhance our margins.
We have a clear and focussed UK based
growth strategy with simple KPIs of Net Revenue, Operating Margin
and ROCE."
Performance
Highlights
Revenue for the first half of the financial year
is expected to be c.£221m (2023/24 : £210.4m).
Soft
Drinks
Strong Soft Drinks brand performance was led by
Rubicon where successful
marketing and further distribution gains drove double digit revenue
growth. Revenue from IRN-BRU was up through a combination of
volume and value growth and continued market share gains in
England. As previously communicated, the focus for Boost this year is on margin build and
insourcing of the operation and this continues on
plan.
Cocktail
Solutions
The FUNKIN ready-to-drink (RTD) business
has continued to grow at pace in our strategic growth channel of
retail where it is the number 1 RTD cocktail brand. Strong
off-trade growth was impacted by short term issues with third party
can production and the ongoing challenges in the hospitality sector
where late night venues remain particularly affected.
Other and
Business Change Programme
MOMA maintained its
growth in H1 with new distribution gains.
The Barr
Direct route to market closed at the end of June with no
impact to customer service. Symbol and Independent retailers are
now fully serviced through the Wholesale Channel, supported by a
larger Field Sales team.
The integration of Boost into Barr Soft Drinks is on track and will
be completed in H2. Manufacturing synergies continue to be realised
as production is insourced.
As previously stated, these two projects are
expected to give rise to a one-off cost of c.£5m in the 2024/25
financial year, the majority of which will be incurred in
H1.
As previously communicated, Jonathan Kemp,
Commercial Director, will retire later in the year and we are
pleased to announce the appointment of Dino Labbate**. Dino joins
in January, in a newly created, broader role of MD A.G. BARR,
reporting to Euan Sutherland. Jonathan will not be replaced on the
board and will remain with the business on a consultancy basis
through to autumn 2025.
H2
Outlook
The half year trading
performance is in line with our expectations. We remain committed
to improving our profit margins which, combined with the forecast
revenue growth, will lead to positive earnings momentum for H2 and
beyond. The outlook for the full year remains unchanged and we are
on track to meet FY expectations*.
For more information, please contact
:
A.G.
BARR
Instinctif
Partners
0330 390 3900
020 7457 2010/05
Euan Sutherland, Chief
Executive
Justine Warren
Stuart Lorimer, Finance
Director
Matthew Smallwood
* Analyst consensus : FY24 Net Revenue £421.2m,
PBT £56.9m (FY23 PBT £50.5m)
** Dino Labbate is currently GB Commercial
Director for Hospitality, Britvic PLC
Next update : Interim Results - 24 September
2024