Barr first-half revenue up 5.5% to £137m

Cumbernauld-based Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr said its revenue grew 5.5% to £136.9 million and profit before tax and exceptional items increased 4.0% to £18.2 million in the six months ended July 28, 2018.

An interim dividend of 3.9p per share has been declared, an increase of 5% on the prior year.

A.G. Barr CEO Roger White said: “We have delivered a solid financial performance in the first half of the financial year, navigating through the Soft Drinks Industry Levy implementation, reformulation, extremes of weather and CO2 shortages in addition to a dynamic consumer, customer and macro-economic environment. 

“Our core brands have performed well and have good momentum with both consumers and trade customers. 

“We will continue to ensure our actions and investment decisions support our long term growth strategy. 

“We plan to invest further across the second half of the financial year which we anticipate will have a moderate impact on margins. 

“We remain on target to meet our profit expectations for the full year.”