Drinks group Britvic has reported a 1.9% rise in half year revenues on a constant currency basis, while its after profits rose by 4.8%.
Revenues for the 28 weeks ended April 14 at Britvic rose from £733.2m to £769.2m while its after tax profits increased by £33.3m to £34.9m.
The company, which owns brands like Club, TK and Ballygowan here, has proposed an interim dividend of 8.3 pence, up over 5% from the dividend of 7.9 pence the same time last year.
Britvic, which also owns the Pepsi licence in Ireland and the UK, said its Irish sales volumes declined by 4.5% in the six month period due to a fall in the sale of third-party alcohol brands. Revenue from its Irish operations also slipped by 0.9%.
However, the company said it grew brand contribution and margin in its Irish operations as it focused on "disciplined revenue management activity".
Simon Litherland, Britvic's chief executive, said the company saw organic brand contribution growth in all of its markets and increased group revenue, organic margin and adjusted earnings per share.
"As we anticipated, the soft drinks levy has benefited our portfolio, accelerating the consumer trend towards our heartland of low and no sugar brands," the CEO said.
"Pepsi MAX has generated more incremental retail value than any other cola variant, while the rejuvenation of the Robinsons brand continued to deliver both significant revenue and squash category value growth," he noted.
"In the second half of the year we have a range of exciting marketing and innovation plans, and I remain confident that we will achieve full-year market expectations," the CEO added.
