FDBusiness.com

UK soft drinks producer AG Barr has acheived a 9.6% increase pre-tax profit before exceptional items, to £38.1 million on turnover up 6.9% to £254.1 million for the 12 months ended 26 January 2014. Revenue growth outpaced the wider UK soft drinks market.

The Scottish drinks company’s carbonates sales grew by 8.2% in value, fuelled by its core brands IRN-BRU and Barr, with the addition of a strong performance from its franchise energy brand Rockstar. The still drinks portfolio had a more subdued year, growing by 2.7% in overall value terms. Within this performance, Rubicon stills grew by 4.0% and the Strathmore water brand grew by over 9%. KA stills declined by 3.8% following a very strong prior year growth. Overall the KA brand was down 1% in the period.

AG Barr’s operating margins increasing by 0.4% to 15.1%, reflecting the improvements in cost of goods, well controlled overheads and positive product sales mix. The improvement in margins was not at the expense of continued investment in the company’s brands, where marketing and promotional spend has further increased year on year.

“It has been another year of significant progress at AG Barr which has seen us outperform the market and improve our conversion of sales into profit growth,” says Roger White, chief executive of AG Barr. “The financial position of the group has grown stronger in the past 12 months and the platform for growth has been further reinforced by the performance of our brands, assets and people. The business has benefited hugely from the challenges of the past year, emerging stronger, fitter and more ambitious to develop. Despite remaining cautious regarding the environment we operate in and the challenges we face, we are confident in our future prospects.”