Group Q3 performance was materially impacted by:
- Very poor weather experienced during the quarter
- The product recall of Fruit Shoot and Fruit Shoot Hydro, impacting the group Q3 revenue growth by around 2%
Group Q3 revenue declined by 5.1% at constant currency, with a negative currency impact of 2.5% in the quarter resulting in a revenue decline of 7.6% on an actual exchange rate basis
Continued average realised price growth in France, up 6.9% with revenue growth of 4.3%
Strong progress of Fruit Shoot in the USA, which is unaffected by the recall, continues
GB Q3 revenue declined by 6.9% (ytd: -0.8%). ARP (average realised price) growth of 0.2% is constrained by adverse channel and brand mix, whilst volumes declined by 7.1%.
GB carbonates ARP grew by 1.6% while volumes were down by 4.4% resulting in a revenue decline of 3.0%. Pepsi's market share of the take-home cola market, as measured by Nielsen, has grown again during the quarter in both volume and value.
Stills volume, materially impacted by the Fruit Shoot recall, declined by 13.3% while ARP increased by 1.1% leading to a revenue decline of 12.3%. The poor weather and adverse channel mix has materially affected the performance of J20 in the quarter, whilst Robinsons has shown encouraging market share gains in the last 12 weeks.
Ireland Q3 revenue declined by 11.1% (ytd: -10.3%) as a result of volumes down 7.6% and ARP down 4.2%. Price deflation continues with increased promotional intensity and adverse channel mix as the grocery channel performed better than the impulse and pub and club channels.
France Q3 revenue grew by 4.3% (ytd: +5.7%) with volume down by 2.4%. Strong ARP growth continued in the quarter at 6.9% as a result of our price increase and pack size changes implemented earlier in the year.
International Q3 revenue declined by 1.3% (ytd: +6.2%). Franchise has made continued progress in the quarter with strong sales to the US, which was unaffected by the recall of Fruit Shoot. However the Fruit Shoot recall has materially impacted the export markets of the business unit, especially in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Capital guidance: We have taken decisive action in response to the Fruit Shoot recall to support the ongoing cash generation of the business, consequently we now expect group capex for 2012 to be approximately 50 million. We are reviewing our plans for 2013 and expect a reduction versus previous guidance including the deferral of both the SAP implementation and a new Fruit Shoot line in France until 2014 at the earliest.
