A.G. Barr, the Cumbernauld-based owner of Irn-Bru, Rubicon energy drinks, Boost Drinks, Funkin cocktail mixers and MOMA foods, said its revenue grew 5.2% to £221.3 million in the 26 weeks to July 27, “driven by soft drinks up 7.0%, with Rubicon and IRN-BRU delivering both volume and price gains.”

Adjusted profit before tax rose 8.5% to £29.3 million. Interim dividend of 3.10p per share is an increase on the prior year of 17%.

However, statutory profit before tax fell 10.4% to £24.9m “after £4.4m of one-off costs related to the closure of Barr Direct and the integration of Boost.” Barr shares fell about 8%.

A.G. Barr CEO Euan Sutherland said: “My first few months with the business has further cemented my view that AG Barr is an excellent business with exciting, tangible and deliverable growth opportunities.  I am pleased to report a strong set of first half results.

“The business has delivered both revenue and profit growth as well as good progress on our key strategic margin rebuild programme.

“We continue to invest in our supply chain to build the capacity to support our growth plans and manufacture more volume in-house.  This will deliver tangible benefits including enhanced margin and improved service resilience.

“We anticipate a strong H2 performance from our four core brands – IRN-BRU, Rubicon, Boost and FUNKIN – in particular, with current trading momentum underpinned by further marketing and innovation activities. 

“Guidance on 2024/25 revenue and operating margin is unchanged.  We remain confident of continued, sustainable growth over the long term, in line with our strategic ambitions.”

In its outlook, Barr said: “The positive H1 performance was in line with our expectations and we have ambitious plans for H2 and beyond, which are consistent with our long term growth strategy. 

“We will continue to invest behind our brands to drive revenue growth, and continue to progress our strategic project agenda to deliver margin improvement and strengthen our supply base. 

“We remain conscious of the current pressure on consumers and will be responsive to changes in the dynamic markets in which we operate. 

“We are confident that, assuming a reasonably settled external environment, the execution of our plans will result in a strong H2 and the delivery of a full year performance in line with current market expectations.”

Barr said analyst consensus is for  FY24/25 net revenue of £421.5 million and profit before tax of £57.2 million.