Britvic reports sparkling trading

A sunny Wimbledon helped boost Britvic's revenues

Drinks company Britvic is on course to beat full-year market expectations, the company has reported.

Revenues, at £249m, were up 5.9% in the three months to 5 July from the same period last year, the firm said.

Big brand sponsorships have given Britvic an advantage, including its Robinsons brand's involvement with Wimbledon, now in its 74th year.

However, the Robinsons squash firm is warning of continued troubles in its recession-hit Irish business.

What Wimbledon does is allow us to bring some focus to the brand, the most important part of that fortnight was it was dry and sunny Paul Moody, Britvic chief executive

With its Pepsi brand, the Chelmsford-based firm also backs Twenty20 cricket.

Chief executive Paul Moody said: "What Wimbledon does is allow us to bring some focus to the brand - the most important part of that fortnight was it was dry and sunny."

Revenue flow

Britvic, the largest supplier of still soft drinks in the UK and Irish Republic, said it had brought forward its interim management statement because of its strong performance.

UK and international sales in the quarter grew 11.6% in the 40 weeks to 5 July, with UK revenues from still drinks rising 8.3% and fizzy beverages up 14.4%.

The firm says Robinsons Squash and Fruit Shoot performed particularly well in the UK, with continued growth in the Netherlands and Scandinavia.

New adult juice drink Juicy Drench had an "encouraging" launch and rate of sale.

Britvic said the British take-home soft drinks market had shown recent "signs of improvement", with the decline in sales volume slowing from 3% in the first six months of the year to 0.7%. This swung into 3.2% growth in the last month.

But the licensed on-premises soft drinks market experienced a recent volume decline.

Overall this year, Britvic said sales increased 6.1% in the 40 weeks to 5 July, to £732.3m.

The slide in third-quarter growth was attributed to a 16.8% decline in sterling-based revenues in the Irish Republic, as the recession continued to squeeze spending in the country.

Britvic Ireland's volumes were down 20.2% with euro revenues down 24.3%.

Mr Moody said the firm had worked to reduce costs and reorganise the Irish business, which accounts for less than 20% of the overall group.