UK drinks maker Britvic on Wednesday lifted its dividend after a rise in annual profits as store sales increased after the easing of Covid lockdown restrictions.
The owner of the Robinsons and J2O brands said pre-tax profit for the year to September 30 rose to £143m compared with £111.2m a year ago as Covid-19 restrictions eased in the second half and out-of-home volumes rebounded strongly.
“Immediate consumption volumes benefited from increased mobility levels and people holidaying domestically, recovering back to 2019 levels in quarter four,” the company said.
Revenue was flat at £1.41bn and the board declared a final dividend of 17.7p a share, taking the full-year dividend to 24.2p, up from 21.6p.
“We have started our new financial year with good trading momentum. Like others, we are facing into inflationary pressures, but we are confident we will minimise the impact on our business through revenue growth management, smart procurement and other cost initiatives,” the company said in a statement.
“We anticipate further progress against our key financial metrics in 2022 and are confident we will continue to deliver superior returns in the years ahead.”
