Britvic outperforms soft drinks market in 2008

The company reported a gross profit of £500.4m in the year, compared with £430.3m in 2007, while its revenue rose 29% to £926.5m for the period.

Britvic secured exclusive bottling agreements with PepsiCo for V Water and sports drink Gatorade in Great Britain in the year. It expects to sign a further agreement for Lipton Iced Tea, it added.

The company outperformed the soft drinks market in Britain in all key categories.

The squash market was down 3% in volume, however, Robinsons squash increased its market volume by 7%.

Britvic said that the volume gains in the squash sector were a continuing consequence of its large-pack production facility, which has “unlocked our ability to drive large-pack performance through increased promotional competitiveness”.

The company also launched re-designed the packs of its family squash range. This year the brand sponsors the BBC Sports Personality of the Year event for the second time, which is supported by on-pack promotion.

The children’s on-the-go market increased by 0.3%, while Britvic’s Fruit Shoot range grew its market volume by 15%.

During the period Britvic’s stills volumes increased by 8% and its carbonates volumes were up by 4%.

Paul Moody, chief executive, said: “What has set us apart this year is our winning combination of strong brands and the consistent execution of out point-of-purchase, innovation and marketing strategies.”

Britvic launched lighter bottles for its Robinsons squash brand in July and extended its Drench rage to include 1.5-litre and 2-litre PET bottles in May.

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