Strong Pepsi sales boost Britvic

Britvic has reported strong growth in its stills and carbonates brands in the nine months to July 6. Strong sales for Pepsi helped boost its performance.

In its latest trading update, the drinks company has reported a 29.9% increase in revenue to £690m compared to the previous corresponding period. In Great Britain revenues for its stills brands grew 4.3%, while its carbonates rose 2.5%.

Britvic outperformed the market in the stills category with volume growth of 7.8%, against a take-home stills market decline of 1.2%. It includes its squash, juice drinks, water and sports drinks brands. The company claims growth was driven by strong in-store presence and point of sale activity, increasing promotional effectiveness and the full roll out of Drench and Gatorade.

In the carbonates category it also outperformed the GB market with volume growth of 2.6%, against a take-home carbonates market growth of 2.2%, a result particularly driven by strong sales for Pepsi.

Britvic chief executive Paul Moody says: “This is another period of encouraging top-line growth and a sustained EBIT [earnings before interest and taxes] margin, in which our strong and resilient brand portfolio has performed very well in spite of continued challenging trading conditions.

“Although we anticipate rising input and energy cost pressures, our strong focus on cost control allows us to remain confident about the delivery of earnings in line with market expectations for the current year.”