# BARR (A.G.) plc  Strong financial performance, Revenue grew by 5.6% to £279.0m

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/barr-a-g-plc-strong-financial-performance-revenue-grew-by-5-6-to-279-0m/412770580
- Published: 2019-03-26T07:44:15+00:00
- Author: Charlotte Edwards

**A.G. BARR p.l.c.**, (LON:BAG), which produces and markets some of the UK’s leading
drinks brands, including IRN-BRU, Rubicon, Strathmore and Funkin, announced its 
final results for the 52 weeks ended 26 January 2019.

**Financial headlines** 1

· Revenue grew by 5.6% to £279.0m (2018 : £264.1m)

· Profit before tax and exceptional items* increased by 2.5% to £45.2m (2018 : £
44.1m)

· Statutory profit before tax was £44.5m, reflecting a one-off past service pension
charge of £0.7m (2018 : £44.9m)

· Basic earnings per share before exceptional items* increased by 2.3% to 32.03p(
2018 : 31.30p)

Basic earnings per share decreased by 2.3% to 31.51p (2018 : 32.25p)

· Net cash position at year end of £21.8m (2018 : £15.0m)

· Proposed final dividend of 12.74p per share (2018 : 11.84p) to give a proposed
total dividend for the year of 16.64p per share, an increase of 7.0% over the prior
year

**Strategic highlights**

· Successfully delivered reformulation plan with 99% of soft drinks portfolio currently
exempt from soft drinks industry levy (SDIL)

· Significant increase in volume share within the total UK soft drinks market

· IRN-BRU brand benefited from continued focus on increasing distribution

· IRN-BRU sugar free variants now account for 40% of the total IRN-BRU brand

· Strong trading performance in strategic growth market of England and Wales

· Innovation continues to support growth, particularly Rubicon Spring, IRN-BRU XTRA
and Funkin

· Commitment to introduce a minimum of 30% recycled material into our PET bottles
by 2022

· £30m share repurchase programme expected to complete during the course of 2019

> **Roger White, Chief Executive of BARR, commented:**
> “At the outset of 2018 we set out a clear strategy and specific actions which 
> we believed were required to deliver continued financial success during what we
> forecast to be a year of significant changes across our industry. I am pleased
> to report we have delivered another strong financial performance having adapted
> well to both the circumstances we anticipated and those which were less expected.
> It is with this backdrop in mind that I emphasise the flexibility and strength
> of our business model, people and brands, all of which continue to deliver consistently.
> We have grown revenue by 8.0% and 5.6% respectively over the past two years reflecting
> the growth potential of our business. Whilst the uncertainty across the UK economy
> is likely to prevail for the foreseeable future, we have consistently demonstrated
> over the long-term that our strategy and execution are fit for purpose and resilient.
> The markets in which we operate are robust and provide us with continued opportunities
> to grow.
> We have exciting plans to deliver across the Group and are confident of continuing
> to make further progress in the coming year.”

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