Sales boosted by healthier drinks

Britvic sells more than 1.4bn litres of soft drinks a year

A soft drinks manufacturer claims demand for no-added sugar products is helping it to buck market trends.

The Britvic group saw volumes of still drinks grow by 3.8% in the past year against a market drop of 3.4%.

Fizzy drinks were up by 2% against a wider fall of 1.6%. Total sales grew to £702.5m for the Essex firm.

It has factories in London, Leeds, Norwich, Hartlepool, Rugby and Huddersfield as well as a product development unit in Hertfordshire.

Price increases and cost cutting had helped profits as a "soggy summer" hit the drinks market, a statement said.

Tight cost controls

Britvic saw a small drop in revenues in the six months to 30 September amid "extremely difficult trading conditions".

But full-year revenues are up and this year's profits are still on track to hit forecasts, according to Britvic.

The firm advertised an "all-natural" no-added sugar Robinsons range and extra sales helped it to limit the impact of a weaker demand for soft drinks in the wet summer.

The group added that it expected to deliver on plans to increase operating profit margins through tight controls on costs.