LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Britvic reported a small rise in full-year pre-tax profit on Thursday as lower costs helped to offset a revenue decline, as its out-of-home segment was dented by the Covid-19 crisis.
In its preliminary results for the year to 30 September, the company said pre-tax profit ticked up to £111.2m from £110.3m a year earlier, while revenue fell 6.8% to £1.41bn. Britvic declared a full-year dividend of 21.6p a share, down from 30p the year before, as it maintained a 50% payout ratio.

The company said it kicked off the year with strong momentum, with first-quarter revenue up 2.6% on last year. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions began to have an impact in the second quarter, mainly in the GB and Ireland markets, where Britvic has a strong presence in the out-of-home sector.

As a result, half-year revenue was up a more modest 1.4% and in the third quarter, which saw the full impact of lockdown restrictions, revenue fell 16.3%.

Brivic said it took "decisive and rapid" action to reduce costs across its business, which helped to mitigate some of the profit and cash impacts.

There was an improvement in trading as restrictions were lifted in the summer, Britvic said, with revenue in the final quarter of the year down 11.3% on last year at constant currency.

"The performance in the at-home channels has been robust, with increased demand for our trusted portfolio of brands in larger pack formats, and we have taken market share," it said.

"The out-of-home channels continue to be impacted by trading restrictions and social distancing measures reducing capacity, and people continuing to work from home for the foreseeable future. We will continue to support affected customers through the current challenges, to ensure both we and they are well-placed for the recovery as it unfolds."

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