3 December 2008 - A.G.BARR p.l.c., the soft drinks group, today announces its Interim Management Statement covering trading for the period 26 July to 25 October 2008.
Revenue for the period increased by 15.5% compared to the same period last year. Like for like sales, taking out the effect of the Rubicon acquisition, increased by 7%.
Total revenue for the financial year to 25 October 2008 increased by 8.9% with like for like sales, adjusting for Rubicon, up by 6.2%.
This strong revenue growth reflects the combination of continued investment in brand development and further improvements in our sales execution.
Operating margins continue to be in line with expectations, despite input costs remaining volatile in the period.
Our balance sheet remains strong with the improvement in net assets following the acquisition of the Rubicon business which was completed at the end of August with final completion accounts agreed at the end of September.
The company has continued to generate strong operational cashflows. This together with careful management of both cash and working capital, has improved our current net debt position versus expectation. It is now anticipated that we will end the current financial year with a better than projected net debt position.
Outlook
Trading remains in line with our expectations. The current macro economic climate may have an impact on consumer behaviour during the key festive trading period; however, we believe our core business is solid and we have a strong Christmas executional campaign planned.