AG Barr confident of meeting FY expectations after 'strong' first half

(Sharecast News) - Irn-Bru maker AG Barr said on Tuesday that it was confident of delivering full-year profit in line with recently-increased market expectations after a "strong" first-half performance. In the 26 weeks to 30 July, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 6.7% to £27m on revenue of £210.4m, up 33.2% on the same period a year earlier. Like-for-like revenue was 10.4% higher at £174.3m.

AG Barr hailed a strong financial performance and "significant" progress across strategic priorities, including successfully bringing Boost Drinks and MOMA Foods into the group.

It pointed to strong trading across the group, with volume growth and market share gains in the soft drinks segment in particular, where revenues grew 38.9% to £181.9m. Funkin revenue ticked up 2.6% to £23.3m and other revenue was 23.8% higher at £5.2m.

Chief executive Roger White said: "We have made significant financial and strategic progress in the first half and have exciting plans in place for the balance of the year to sustain our growth momentum.

"We remain confident in delivering a full year profit performance in line with our recently increased market expectations and are well positioned to deliver strong shareholder returns for the long-term."