Snack food and drinks company C&C confidently predicted today that profits would be higher this year on the back of bumper sales of its Magners cider brand in Britain.
In a trading statement issued this morning C&C said it expects turnover for the six months to August 31st to be 25 per cent higher than last year and profit margins to grow by four percentage points.
C&C's Bulmers brand, which is marketed as Magners in the United Kingdom, has been the star performer in the company's drinks portfolio, which also includes Tullamore Dew and Carolan's Irish Cream liqueur.
Turnover growth in the cider division is expected to grow by over 75 per cent arising a from a 250 per cent surge in sales of Magners during the heatwave that Britain enjoyed for most of the summer.
The company even admitted it was struggling to keep up with demand for Magners, especially in the British off-licence market. C&C has invested in new production facilities to be prepared for the summer of 2007.
However, C&C said turnover in the soft drinks and drinks division is expected to be down by around 3 per cent due to the loss of the Danone water brands but that
underlying performance was broadly stable.
Shares in C&C were 7.2 per cent higher at €9.35 in early trade on a broadly flat Dublin market.