Drinks company C&C has said it expects group operating profit to be in the region of €103 million this year.

In a trading statement released to the Irish Stock Exchange this morning, the maker of Bulmers cider said trading in the last quarter of the year provides grounds for optimism.

The company said general trading picked up in Scotland in the last quarter as the impact of tighter drink driving legislation in December 2014 fell out of the comparatives.

However, it said the cider category in Ireland continues to lose market share to other long alcohol drinks, with the Bulmers brand ceding ground to the distribution build of new arrivals.

The group recently put in place new distributor partnerships for the Magners brand with San Miguel in Thailand and Coca Cola Amatil in New Zealand.

The company said cost reduction plans announced in October 2015 are well advanced and the targeted €15 million of savings will start to flow through in 2017.