nufacturer Britvic plc said its revenue in the third quarter reached £316.3 million, an increase of 4.0% at constant currency and 5.4 % at actual exchange rates.Third-quarter sales grew in France, Britain and in its wider international arm, with only its Irish operations showing a decline.
Revenue at Britvic Ireland fell 1.4% between April and June 2013, according to the company. In Britain, revenue rose 4.4% to £211.1 million, while in France it was 9.3% higher at £66 million. International revenues at Britvic rose by 26.6% to £10 million, attributed mainly to the launch of its Robinsons Fruit Shoot product in the US.
“Whilst quarter three continued to be a challenging consumer environment, we maintained our focus on building brand value with a substantially stronger marketing programme, which included our annual Robinsons Wimbledon campaign and Pepsi’s sponsorship of Beyoncé. As a result we have successfully driven an increase in average realised price and grown revenue by 4%," Simon Litherland, Britvic chief executive said.
"These results combined with strong sales in the early weeks of quarter-four, reinforce our confidence that we will deliver EBIT for the full year at the upper end of our guidance range of £125-£131m", he added.
In June, the UK's Competition Commission gave permission to the proposed merger of Britvic and AG Barr. Britvic rejected the offer days later. AG Barr, who released a trading update of their own today, stated that it did not intend to make another approach to Britvic.
'The soft drinks market has benefited from the recent excellent weather conditions experienced across the UK', AG Barr, maker of Irn-Bru, said in a statement today.
