Nichols plc Regulatory News (NICL)

Nichols plc

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Nichols plc ('Nichols' or the 'Group'), the soft drinks Group, announces its Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2015 (the 'period').

Nichols plc is a highly focused soft drinks business. Its brand portfolio includes Vimto, which is sold in over 70 countries and Levi Roots, Feel Good, Sunkist and Panda which are sold in the UK. The Group operates in both the "Still" and "Carbonate" drinks categories.

Highlights:

John Nichols, Non-Executive Chairman, said:

"I am pleased to report another strong performance in 2015 reflecting the strength of our brands and diversified business model. Our financial performance remained strong with international sales up 3.9% on a constant currency basis and Group profit before tax up by 8.9%.

Complementing our organic growth we were delighted to complete the two important strategic acquisitions during the year of the Feel Good brand and Noisy Drinks. These provide exciting extensions to Nichols' brand portfolio and distribution and will have a positive impact on revenue in 2016.

Underpinned by the strengths of our brands, people and business model the Board looks forward with confidence to the year ahead."

Chairman's Statement

I am pleased to report that the Group delivered another strong performance in 2015. Our international sales were up 3.9% year on year (on a constant currency basis), Group profit before tax pre exceptional items increased by 8.9% and we successfully completed two acquisitions.

Trading

Total Group revenue was £109.3m and profit before tax increased 8.9% to £28.0m (2014: £25.7m pre exceptional items). Whilst the headline sales performance was marginally ahead of the prior year, it is important to note that our profit growth was driven by trading activities which delivered a gross profit increase of 5.6% (£2.8m).

In the UK markets, sales totalled £84.8m, slightly below (-0.3%) the prior year's value of £85.1m but ahead of the total UK soft drinks market performance which declined by 0.6% (Nielsen year to 2 Jan 2016). Continuing our strategy of value over volume has once again delivered margin growth. This has been achieved by focusing on the growth of our still products and limiting our participation in deep promotional activity, particularly in carbonates. Also, and with a view to our future growth, we acquired the Feel Good brand in July 2015, which is an established range of premium still and sparkling juice drinks containing no added sugar and 100% natural ingredients. We are putting increased investment behind Feel Good and plan to re-launch in the summer of 2016.

The ongoing challenges in the UK grocery market have been widely reported and emphasise the importance of maintaining a diverse business which is not overly reliant on one market. I am therefore delighted to report that our international sales increased by 3.9% to £25.2m (constant currency basis - calculated by translating prior year non-sterling sales at this year's average exchange rate) during the year (1.5% on a reported basis). This performance was delivered from both of our core export markets being the Middle East and Africa. Trading in the Middle East was particularly encouraging given the difficulties in shipping to the Yemen due to the civil unrest in that region.

Full acquisition

Having taken an initial 49% share in The Noisy Drinks Company Limited (Noisy) in March 2015, which is equity accounted as an associate investment at the year-end, we are pleased to announce that the remaining shares were purchased on 8 January 2016. This additional investment is a key step in our strategy to enhance our Out of Home proposition. As a result we can now offer our customers a unique portfolio of still and carbonate products including dispensed soft drinks, packaged soft drinks and frozen drinks.

Noisy is the UK's leading frozen drinks business, supplying the Starslush brand to a number of prestigious customers in both the UK and mainland Europe. In addition to enhancing our product portfolio, the acquisition of Noisy strengthens our supply chain capabilities as the business has an established UK network facilitating direct access to customers on a national basis.

Dividend

The Group has delivered another strong performance in 2015 and as a reflection of the Board's continued confidence in the outlook, I am pleased to recommend a final dividend of 17.6 pence per share (2014: 15.3 pence). If accepted by our shareholders, the total dividend for 2015 will be 25.6 pence (2014: 22.4 pence), an increase of 14.3% on the prior year.

Subject to shareholder approval, the final dividend will be paid on 3 May 2016 to shareholders registered on 1 April 2016; the ex-dividend date is 31 March 2016.

Outlook

During 2016 we will continue to implement our growth strategy which includes further investment in our brands, across the still and carbonate product range, to support distribution growth both in the UK and our export markets. We will also complete the integration of Noisy (acquired in full in January 2016) and the Feel Good brand into the business both of which will have a positive impact on revenue during the year.

In summary, the Board is pleased with the 2015 performance and is confident that the Group is well placed to continue the trend in to 2016.

John Nichols

Non-Executive Chairman

2 March 2016

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REPORT

Nichols continued to make good progress during the year despite some challenging market conditions, particularly in the UK. Before exceptional items, the Group delivered 8.9% profit before tax growth, 9.6% earnings per share growth and retains its robust financial position with £35.4m cash in the bank.

Acquisition formed a large piece of activity for the Group during the year which underpins future growth for the business. The diversification of the organisation remains our core strength, which ensures we are not reliant on one customer, one route to market or one geographical region. The addition of the Feel Good brand strengthens the Brand Portfolio and the integration of Noisy Drinks brings new customers and products into our Vimto Out of Home business.

The Vimto brand heritage remains strong. Created in 1908, it is as relevant in today's global market as it was 108 years ago. Distributed to over 70 markets, Vimto is loved from Manchester to Mali.

The UK Soft Drinks Market

In 2015, volumes in the UK soft drinks market increased by 0.6% (Nielsen year to 2 January 2016). The total value of the UK soft drinks market, excluding the "on trade" channel, decreased by 0.6% to a total value of £7.6bn.

The market saw the dilutes sector decrease in value by 7.4% while in contrast Vimto dilutes grew 1%. This growth was achieved whilst maintaining our focus of delivering value over volume.

The Vimto brand is unusual in the context of the soft drinks market as it is present in both the Still and Carbonate sector. The brand saw a pleasing performance in its ready to drink range which again significantly outperformed the market to deliver growth of 15%.

Operational review

Vimto UK

Our strategic focus on Still products continued in 2015 and as a result significant distribution gains were made on the Vimto ready to drink range, particularly in the prominent front of store chiller space.

The Vimtoad featured in our "above the line" campaign again in 2015 and has been successful in broadening our target audience by encompassing parents and their teenagers. In addition to the national TV campaign we targeted the Midlands area with a regional up weighted communications campaign and a supporting van sales drive. The activity took place over the peak spring/summer period and included TV, radio, outdoor and digital advertising, culminating with the headline sponsorship of the Fusion Festival in Birmingham. The festival appealed to teens and their families with 50,000 people attending the three day event and featured performers such as Ed Sheeran and McBusted. The amplification of the festival sponsorship included radio advertising, sampling and social media. Van sales were designed to increase distribution with independent retailers and secured over 16,000 new listings. As a result of this combined strategy to drive both awareness and trial the Vimto brand sales have grown 9 times faster in the Midlands compared to its national performance. Vimto is now bought by an additional 15,000 households and resulted in the brand being enjoyed in 1 out of 4 households in the Midlands.

Vimto International

Our international business performed strongly during 2015 delivering growth of 3.9% (on a constant currency basis) despite challenges throughout the year of delivering concentrate to the Yemen as a result of conflict in this region.

In-country performance from our partner, Aujan Coca Cola, was very strong with growth of in-market volume of 9% as they executed another outstanding fully integrated marketing campaign during the Ramadan period. The theme focused on "emotional separation" and how the issue resonates in different ways with the Middle Eastern consumer. Through diary style real life stories, Vimto was once again highlighted as central to that special time when their families come together. Digital and social media communication remained key with material viewed online over 17 million times.

A high profile marketing initiative took place in the popular store of Bloomingdales in Dubai. Consumers were able to purchase a bottle of Vimto cordial and have their name personalised on the label.

As well as our business in the Middle East we have a long established trading history in the African region. In the latter half of 2015, six new bottlers were appointed in Africa which creates a platform for concentrate growth in 2016.

A new product launch also took place in 2015 with the launch of Vimto Malt. Dark malt and Vimto provides a great taste combination which meets the local needs of the African consumer and adds a new Vimto product to the International portfolio. This product will be launched via the ethnic channel into Europe as well as the USA in 2016.

For the first time in our history we completed the production of a pan-African TV commercial which will be aired in the region during 2016.

Vimto Out of Home

2015 saw the continued development of our Vimto Out of Home business with the rationalisation of the independent distributors now completed. In order to communicate our position as a one stop shop to the independent on-trade, this part of the organisation has been rebranded as Vimto Out of Home with the strap line "Refreshing Soft Drinks Solutions".

Acquisitions

Two important acquisitions were made during 2015; The Noisy Drinks Company Limited being a 49% associate investment, and the Feel Good brand (trade and assets acquisition).

Noisy was established in 2002 and employs 45 people nationally with its headquarters in Thurrock, Essex. Noisy has a strong track record of delivering high quality service through its UK network. Its product portfolio centres on frozen drinks and includes the Starslush and Slurp brands. With an enviable customer portfolio which ranges from Merlin theme parks such as Legoland, Alton Towers and Chessington to Compass Catering supplying schools, Noisy is a great addition to the Vimto Out of Home business.

Noisy provides a strong platform for product innovation. A new launch in 2015 saw the introduction of a new frozen carbonated product under the Burrst brand, which has particular relevance to the cinema sector. Vimto and Levi Roots Caribbean Crush have both been introduced into the Starslush and Burrst flavour portfolio and will achieve extended distribution in 2016.

The Feel Good brand was founded in 2001. Feel Good drinks is a premium range of 100% natural still and sparkling drinks for adults and kids. The range is available in over 20,000 outlets across 15 different countries. Feel Good is a core element of our future growth strategy which allows us to enter the premium health soft drinks sector. It also has an important part to play in all our routes to market. Whilst it is firmly established in the UK grocery packaged market, the brand has a growing presence in the out of home sector and an international business which we can build on. Feel Good sparkling will be relaunched in summer 2016 with exciting new flavours and new product ranges will be added to the brand ready for launch in early 2017.

Our proposition to the consumer for the brand is to "drink good" and "feel good", using only natural ingredients with uplifting flavours. Our brand values will ensure we always deliver integrity and honesty to our customers which, in turn, will ensure they have trust in the product we make.

Financial review

The Group has delivered sales of £109.3m (2014: £109.2m) in a challenging global market. The focus has been maintained on our value over volume strategy and the Group's diversification has ensured we have outperformed the markets we operate in.

In summary in 2015 we achieved:

Cash flow remained positive in 2015 and as a result we finished the year with £35.4m cash in the bank.

Corporate Responsibility

2015 has been another challenging year for the soft drinks industry with many claims for urgent and significant action required by the industry on the issue of obesity. However, it is really important to highlight the progress we have made collectively as producers. Between January 2012 and January 2016 soft drinks volume grew by 2.5% while calories and sugars declined by 13.4% and 13.6%, respectively (BSDA and Kantar Worldpanel Soft Drinks Nutritional Review, 24 November 2015).

We take our responsibility towards the issue of obesity and sugar consumption very seriously. Our marketing strategy has revolved around promoting no added sugar choices in order to achieve our aims of overall sugar reduction across our range of products. As a result we have continued to reduce our total sugar usage from 8,202 tonnes in 2014 to 7,488 tonnes in 2015, which is an 8% reduction year on year. Since 2012 we have reduced the sugar content of our product portfolio by 1,118 tonnes.

Our No Added Sugar products in our dilute range now account for 46% of all purchases and 41% of our Vimto still range in the UK, with Vimto Minis and Squeezy products only available as no added sugar.

We are committed to looking for healthier alternatives and a good example of this is our acquisition of the Feel Good brand, which contains no added sugars and 100% natural ingredients.

Our recent launch of Vimto Remix contains no added sugar and we have recently launched a

5 litre catering pack of Vimto squash which is no added sugar only. This year we introduced front of pack labelling in order to better communicate to the consumer the nutritional content of our products.

Our Community

We are delighted to continue our work with Warrington Youth Club. To support the charity last year over 40 colleagues attempted to climb the Three Peaks during June. They had to combat extremely poor weather, which included snow at the top of Ben Nevis, but defeated the odds to raise over £55,000 for the charity.

Our Team

We conducted a staff survey in 2015 and were delighted to receive the following feedback:

People remain absolutely core to the continued success of Nichols plc. Working as one team ensures we preserve our culture and its values. I would like to say a huge thank you to the amazing effort and passion my colleagues continue to show the business.

Our Vision

Our five year rolling strategy centres on our Group commercial activities in both the UK and overseas. To support those initiatives we work to ensure we have well established operations and partners to support our business growth and development.

In the UK we will focus on the geographical expansion of the Vimto brand. Feel Good will concentrate on its position as a healthy natural soft drink and will have innovation as the core of its growth. With the newly acquired Noisy Drinks business we will have a unique product portfolio for the out of home sector along with a population of new customers and consumers.

Internationally we will continue to develop and expand our large presence in the Middle East region. There also remain potential new territories in Africa which we will continue to evaluate and introduce new partners to realise further success. In addition we continue to develop opportunities in new export markets to add to our successful international business.

As a truly diversified business, acquisition remains a key feature in our growth strategy. Any further acquisition either in the UK or overseas would be incorporated into our current business model characterised by outsourcing production and using third party distribution partners in the export markets.

Marnie Millard

Chief Executive Officer

2 March 2016

Consolidated income statement

Year ended 31 December 2015

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

Year ended 31 December 2015

Statement of financial position

Year ended 31 December 2015

Consolidated statement of cash flows

Year ended 31 December 2015

Consolidated statement of changes in equity

Year ended 31 December 2015

Nichols plc

NOTES TO THE PRELIMINARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Basis of Preparation

The preliminary financial information does not constitute statutory accounts for the financial years ended 31 December 2015 and 31 December 2014, but has been derived from those accounts. The accounting policies used in preparation of this preliminary announcement have remained unchanged from those set out in the 2014 annual report. Statutory accounts for 2014 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for the financial year ended 31 December 2015 will be delivered following the Company's annual general meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts and their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

Earnings per Share

The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year. Shares held in the Employee Share Ownership Trust and Employee Benefit Trust are treated as cancelled for the purposes of this calculation.

The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on the basic earnings per share adjusted to allow for the assumed conversion of all dilutive options.

Basic earnings per share is 60.33 pence (2014: 38.39 pence).

Basic earnings per share (pre exceptional items) is 60.33 pence (2014: 55.03 pence).

Segmental Information

The Management Committee analyses the Group's internal reports to enable an assessment of performance and allocation of resources. The operating segments are based on these reports.

The Management Committee considers the business from a product perspective and reviews the Group on the operating segments identified below. There has been no change to the segments during the year. Based on the nature of the products sold by the Group, the types of customers and methods of distribution management consider reporting operating segments at the still and carbonate level to be reasonable. Gross profit is the measure used to assess the performance of each operating segment as identified as a KPI in the Finance Director's Review.

There are no sales between the two operating segments, and all revenue is earned from external customers.

The operating segments gross profit is reconciled to profit before taxation as per the consolidated income statement.

The Group's assets are managed centrally by the Management Committee and consequently there is no reconciliation between the Group's assets per the statement of financial position and the segment assets. 

Annual Report

The annual report will be mailed to shareholders and made available on our website on or around 30th March 2016. Copies will be available after that date from: The Secretary, Nichols plc, Laurel House, Woodlands Park, Ashton Road, Newton le Willows, WA12 0HH.

Annual General Meeting

The annual general meeting will be held at Nichols plc, Laurel House, Woodlands Park, Ashton Road, Newton le Willows, WA12 0HH on 27th April 2016 at 11.00am.

Copies of the announcement can be found on the Investors Relations section of the company's website: www.nicholsplc.co.uk.