SOFT DRINKS group Britvic Ireland saw sales volumes plummet almost 14 per cent over the three months to the end of September, and said yesterday the market “shows no indication of a return to growth in the short term”.
The lower volumes led to a 16.3 per cent decline in revenues at the Irish division of Britvic, which owns the Ballygowan water brand and the Club brands.
“We’re certainly finding the pub sector in particular a challenging environment at the moment,” said Andrew Richards, chief executive of Britvic Ireland.
About 40 per cent of Britvic’s sales volumes in Ireland come from the on-trade or bars and restaurants sector. Volumes of Britvic’s bar sales have fallen 20 per cent, while grocery volumes slid 0.5 per cent and convenience store sales fell 1.7 per cent.
Goodbody Stockbrokers food analyst Liam Igoe described the fall in bar sales as “massive”.
Britvic Ireland was the worst performing division of the British soft drinks group over the period, according to the full-year trading results issued by the company yesterday.
Overall, group volumes at Britvic, which distributes Pepsi in the UK and Ireland, increased 1.6 per cent in the three months to the end of September compared to the same period in 2008, while total revenues increased 4.2 per cent to £246.5 million.
