Drinks group C&C has reported a decline in operating profit for the six months to the end of August, which it said reflected a challenging period in its core markets of Ireland and Scotland.
C&C said its operating profits for the six month period fell by 9.5% to €62.6m, while its half yearly revenues were down 2.6% to €358.6m.
The company, whose brands include Bulmers, Magners and Tennents, said that many of the factors contributing to the falls were "one-off or transitional".
They included poor weather, the transition to a brand led wholesale model and legislative change in Scotland.
"In aggregate, the headwinds will adversely impact profitability by €10m in the financial year," the company stated.
Operating profit in its small North American operations fell 61%. It said its England and Wales business made an operating margin of 13% compared with 21% in Ireland.
C&C said it was declaring interim dividend of 4.73 cent per share for the financial year ending February 2016, an increase of 5.1% on the FY 2015 interim dividend
"Looking ahead, we expect improved operational performance in Ireland and Scotland as we move through the second half and into FY 2017 underpinned by ongoing cost saving initiatives, sustained investment behind our brands and increased emphasis on niche and premium," commented the company's chief executive Stephen Glancey.
"We are assuming that market conditions will continue to be testing particularly in our core markets in the coming months but we are confident that we are taking the right actions to build durable, long-term value for all shareholders and this is reflected in a 5.1% increase in our interim dividend," he added.
Mr Glancey also said that C&C has no plans to retreat from its less profitable US and English operations, rebuffing an activist investor's call to focus its efforts on Ireland and Scotland.
Minority shareholder Orange Capital earlier this month called for C&C to sell its US operations, cut back in England, and focus resources on its core Scottish and Irish markets.
But Stephen Glancey told Reuters that the company was not giving up on the England market and would do what it has to do to make it more profitable.
"We're not going to give up on the UK market - we think it's really critical for the brand value long-term that we keep it alive and healthy," Glancey said.
He also said that it was "not the best time to optimise value" of its US assets, adding that it was taking a long-term view on the US market.
Instead, he said C&C was watching the proposed merger of SABMiller and AB InBev to see what asset disposals might occur as a result.
"With all the changes in the industry, opportunities might come our way," he said. "It could lead to some asset disposals, some brand disposals, and it could lead to other people looking for collaboration across other territories," he stated.
C&C did fulfill one of the demands made by 5% shareholder Orange Capital, promising to return €100m of capital to shareholders through share buybacks by July.
Shares in the company were lower in Dublin trade today.
