A.G. BARR PLC 
By
A.G. BARR p.l.c. (A.G. Barr), the soft drinks group, today
updates the market that trading in the final quarter of the
financial year has been strong and ahead of a buoyant total
soft drinks market.
It is anticipated that like for like total sales in the final
quarter will be more than 12% ahead of the prior year, giving
a full year like for like growth of circa 6%. The performance
in the final quarter reflects well executed sales plans, a
less demanding comparative trading position and excellent
consumer demand behind our core brands.
All of our core brands grew during the year. IRN-BRU
continues to deliver consistent long term growth throughout
the U.K. and our exotic brands, Rubicon and KA, have
performed strongly across the year, with a combined growth
well into double digits. The Barr brand, benefiting from its
excellent value for money positioning, has also continued to
perform well ahead of the market.
The Company remains on course to meet our expectations for
the financial year ending 28 January
2012.
Overall margins are anticipated to be in line with our
expectations despite the continuing volatility in a number of
key input costs such as sugar, packaging materials and
energy.
Our operational performance has continued to improve in the
final quarter of our financial year, as we have further
improved the output and efficiency of our manufacturing
base.
Over the period our free cashflow generation and balance
sheet have remained strong, with net debt reducing in line
with expectations.
Outlook
Amid the challenging economic environment A.G. Barr continues
to offer choice and value across a wider portfolio of brands
and to an increasing number of consumers.
Over the course of the next financial year we expect to see
continued pressure on consumers' disposable incomes and
further input cost inflation, as well as an increasingly
competitive market place. However, we do see sales growth
opportunities across our core brands as we continue to drive
our product distribution and innovation activities. We will
maintain our focus on costs throughout our total operation to
ensure our margins are protected.
We are continuing to develop our investment plans regarding
our future production capacity in the south of the U.K. and
will provide further updates in due course.
A.G. Barr will announce its full year financial results on 26
March 2012.
Roger White, Chief Executive
Alex Short, Finance Director
Justine Warren
Matthew Smallwood
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| Documents associés | |
| Pre-Close Trading Update January 2012 |
