Britvic’s CEO has not ruled out job losses in Ireland after write-down charges on the value of its business there marred a rise in group-wide sales and dragged the soft drinks maker into the red for its fiscal year.
Britvic’s share price sank by 8% today (2 December) after the group reported that it swung to net losses of GBP48m (US$74.9m) for the 53 weeks to 3 October. The Robinsons and Tango soft drinks maker saw profits of GBP46.3m last year eroded by a GBP104m write-down charge on the value of its Ireland division.
The group, which also holds the licence for PepsiCo’s drinks in the UK and Ireland, reiterated that it plans to “reshape” its Ireland business to meet reduced consumer demand. Britvic’s CEO, Paul Moody, declined to rule out job losses in Ireland when interviewed by the BBC this morning.
Britvic’s travails in Ireland marred a 14.6% rise in group sales for the year, to GBP1.14bn, inflated by the acquisition of the Fruite business in France. Excluding Fruite, Britvic’s sales rose by 6% on the previous year.
With earnings before interest, tax and charges up by 18% to GBP134.6m, Moody was upbeat on the company’s performance and prospects.
“Britvic has again demonstrated its ability to grow the business despite the difficult conditions in the wider economy,” Moody said. “Whilst we expect the consumer and cost environment to remain challenging, we are confident in our ability to compete strongly in the markets in which we operate.
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By GlobalData“The group’s extensive brand and innovation plans, combined with satisfactory trading in the first few weeks of the new financial year, mean we are in good shape to deliver another robust set of results for the year ahead.”
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