Key Points
● Total turnover increased by 5.8% to £128.7m (2012: £121.6m restated)
● Profit on ordinary activities before tax and exceptional items increased by 12.3% to £16.6m (2012: £14.8m restated)
● *Underlying earnings per share increased by 12.6% to 11.34p (2012:10.07p)
● Continuing financial strength
○ Net assets increased to £147.5m
○ ROCE at 21.5% on a rolling 12 month basis
○ Strong underlying free cash flow of £18.1m for the 6 month period
● Net debt of £15.8m; annualised net debt/EBITDA ratio is below 0.4 times
● IRN-BRU, Barr and Rubicon maintained strong market positions
● New production and distribution site at Milton Keynes has already commenced commercial production with further commissioning continuing for the balance of the year
● Agreement to implement Asset Backed Funding arrangement with Pension Trustees
● Interim dividend of 2.825p per share (2012: 2.616p), an increase of 8% on the prior year
Commenting on the results, Roger White, Chief Executive said:
"We have made good progress across all fronts in the year to date. We successfully navigated the challenging market conditions in the early part of 2013 and have accelerated our growth in the second quarter.
Our brands, assets and people are all performing well, benefiting from continued high levels of investment. We remain very confident in the long term growth potential of our brands and business."
