(Alliance News) - Britvic PLC said on Tuesday it put in a "strong" financial performance in the first half of its financial year, posting double-digit revenue growth.
For the six months that ended March 31, the Hertfordshire, England-based soft drinks maker's revenue was GBP719.3 million, up 17% from GBP617.1 million a year before.
Pretax profit was GBP59.3 million, jumping 49% from GBP39.8 million in the same period last year.
Britvic said measures such as pricing activity, promotional strategy and cost control helped to mitigate inflationary pressures in the period.
Chief Executive Officer Simon Litherland said: "We have accelerated revenue growth across our markets and made good progress against our strategic priorities. We have successfully executed pricing and cost actions to mitigate significant levels of inflation, while continuing to rebuild investment to support our near and longer-term growth ambitions. We continue to generate strong cash flow and have increased the interim dividend by 20%."
Britvic declared an interim dividend of 7.8 pence, from 6.5p paid out a year before.
The firm said its strong performance has continued into the second half, noting double-digit revenue growth in April.
"While soft drinks are not immune to changes in consumer spending, both the category and Britvic's leading family favourite brands have historically shown themselves to be resilient and low elasticity through a downturn and we are confident we will continue to navigate short-term uncertainties," the company said.
Britvic shares were down 0.6% at 848.55p each on Tuesday morning in London.
By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2022 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Britvic (BVIC)