Britvic sees its sales rally; Young’s stays solid

The Wimbledon heat wave was not just good for spectators but also tied in with bonus for Britvic's sales. Britvic is in its 74th year of Wimbledon sponsorship and this helped it to lift its total sales by 5.9% to £249 million for the 3 months to 5th July.

Signs of improvement in the UK take-home market helped Britvic’s performance. Its UK and international sales in the quarter grew 11.6% in the 40 weeks to 5th July and revenues from still drinks rose 8.3%, with fizzy beverages up 14.4%. Its sales increased 6.1% in the 40 weeks to 5th July. The Wimbledon favourite, Robinsons, did particularly well in the UK as did Fruit Shoot and the company has been very encouraged by the debut of a new adult soft drink called Juice Drench. There were, however, continuing problems for Britvic in recession hit Ireland. A general soft drink decline in the on-trade also did not help overall sales.

Meanwhile, back firmly in the alcohol and pub trade, Young’s reported that its managed pubs have managed to stay on track, despite the challenging trading climate. Its managed pub sales were up 0.1% for the 15 weeks to 11th July. Writing in The Independent, James Moore said that Young’s steady returns validated its strategy of ‘living within its means’ and avoiding securitisation deals and sales discounting that wouldn’t suit Young’s business model.

16 July 2009