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Last checked at 
7 Jan 2013 07:00
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Date: | Embargoed until 7.00am, 7 January 2013 Β | |
Contacts: | John Nichols, Non-Executive Chairman | |
Brendan Hynes, Group Chief Executive Tim Croston, Group Finance Director | ||
Nichols plc | ||
Telephone: 01925 222222 | ||
Website:www.nicholsplc.co.uk | ||
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Alex Brennan | Richard Lindley/Jonny Franklin-Adams | |
Hudson Sandler | N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser) | |
Telephone:020 7796 4133 | Telephone: 0113 388 4855 / 0207 496 3000 | |
Email: nichols@hspr.com | Website: www.n1singer.com | |
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Nichols plc
Pre-Close Trading StatementΒ
Nichols plc ("the Group"), today issues the following pre-close trading update.
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The Group has continued its positive trading momentum in the second half of 2012 with total sales for the year ended 31 December 2012 increasing by 9% to Β£108m.
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This performance is ahead of the UK soft drinks market and has been achieved against last year's strong comparatives (18% uplift on 2010), a challenging UK economy and record wet weather.
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The UK market, as measured by A.C. Nielsen, increased in value by 3.2% for the year to 8 December 2012 with underlying volume down 0.6%.
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Despite this challenging market we are pleased to report that our UK business has increased sales by 10% against the prior year with our export sales also increasing by 8%.
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Despite another year of significant cost inflation and high levels of promotional activity, we expect, as a minimum, to maintain our operating margins. This has been achieved by a combination of good cost control and ongoing productivity improvements.
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The Group's balance sheet remains strong and has continued to generate positive cash in line with our expectations.
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In summary, 2012 has seen a strong trading performance and we expect Group profit and earnings per share (EPS) to be significantly ahead of last year and ahead of market expectations.
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The Group's Preliminary results will be announced on 7 March 2013.
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John Nichols
Non-Executive Chairman
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Notes to Editors:
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Nichols plc is a highly focused soft drinks business. Its brand portfolio includes Vimto, which is sold in over 65 countries and Levi Roots (soft drinks), Sunkist, Panda & Weight Watchers which are sold in the UK. The Group has a leading market position in both the "Still" and "Carbonate" drinks categories and also in the soft drinks on dispense market, where its brands include Cabana, Ben Shaws & Dayla.
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