Britvic plc Preliminary Results

30 November 2011

Britvic plc announces its preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 2 October 2011(full year)⁽¹⁾

Financial highlights (52 week unless stated)⁽¹⁾:

Group revenue growth of 14.6%; Group ex-France +0.8%. GB, France and International all delivered positive volume and revenue growth, with Ireland constraining overall group growth
Group EBITA growth of 4.3%, adjusted EPS decline versus 53 weeks in 2010 of 8.2%
Group adjusted net debt to EBITDA ratio of 2.4x compared to 2.5x last year
Group bank syndicate successfully refinanced to deliver strong funding platform to 2016
Full year dividend per share up 6.0% to 17.7p

Three major new agreements for Fruit Shoot in US doubling coverage to six states:

Britvic product to be manufactured in the US for first time under new agreement with Pepsi Bottling Ventures, largest independent Pepsi bottler in the US, to manufacture and distribute in North and South Carolina.
Agreement with Gross & Jarson, third largest Pepsi bottler in the US, to distribute in Kentucky
Agreement to distribute Fruit Shoot in Florida & Georgia through Pepsi Beverages Company.
PBC is the wholly-owned manufacturing, sales and distribution operating unit of PepsiCo.

Pension funding contributions on GB pension scheme agreed:

Pension Funding Partnership (PFP) expected to be in place by end of 2011. Payments of: £10m in 2011, £12.5m in 2012 and £20m 2013-2017. Delivers net cash benefits versus guidance. If PFP not agreed, £20m extended to 2022. Payments subject to triennial valuation.

Innovation:

Continued successful group wide innovation programme, including the launch of Teisseire Fruit Shoot in France, Mountain Dew Energy and Juicy Drench in Ireland; all of which are performing ahead of expectations.

	52 weeks ended 2 October 2011 £m ⁽¹⁾	52 weeks ended 26 September 2010 £m ⁽¹⁾	% Change Actual Exchange Rate	% change Constant⁽²⁾ Exchange Rate
Group Revenue	1,290.4	1,121.1	15.1%	14.6%
Ex-France	1,045.7	1,035.9	0.9%	0.8%
France⁽³⁾	244.7	85.2	-	-

Group EBITA⁽⁴⁾	138.1	131.8	4.8%	4.3%
EBITA Margin⁽⁴⁾	10.7%	11.8%	(110)bps	(110)bps
Group EBIT	135.0	129.6	4.2%	3.7%

Group Profit Before Tax	105.1	104.6	0.5%	0.0%
Group Profit After Tax	77.9	76.8	1.4%	0.9%
Group Profit After Tax, After Exceptional And Other Items	58.4	(51.4)	-	-

Adjusted Earnings Per Share⁽⁵⁾	33.7p	36.5p(a)	(7.7)%	(8.2)%
Weighted Average No. of Shares	240.4	224.9	6.9%	-
Full year Dividend Per Share	17.7p	16.7p	6.0%	-

Underlying Free Cash flow ⁽⁶⁾	59.3	67.8	(12.5)%	-
Group Adjusted Net Debt ⁽⁷⁾	(452.0)	(451.2)	(0.2)%	-
Underlying ROIC ⁽⁸⁾	21.9%	22.4%	(50)bps	-

(a) Adjusted earnings per share in 2010 is a 53 week number

Dividend

The board is proposing a final dividend per share of 12.6p bringing the full year dividend per share to 17.7p, an increase of 6.0% on the prior year. This reflects the board’s continuing confidence in the future prospects of the business, as well as the underlying cash generative nature of its activities.

Paul Moody, Chief Executive commented:

“Britvic has delivered a robust set of results, despite the particularly challenging economic backdrop in 2011. Our GB, France and International business units have each produced revenue and volume growth this year, leading to an increase in total group revenue of almost 15%. This performance reflects the strength of our brands and the quality of our innovation programme, as well as the continued focus on revenue management.

We are particularly delighted with the progress that we have made with the internationalisation of Fruit Shoot. The announcement today of three major new agreements for this Britvic-owned brand in the United States gives us material additional territories, new distribution partners and, significantly, an agreement with PBV to begin production in the US; important steps towards realising our ambitions for Fruit Shoot.

The political, financial and social environment in which we operate will remain challenging, but we are confident in our ability to compete strongly and to deliver another solid set of results for the year ahead, in line with our expectations.”

For further information please contact:

Investors:
Rupen Shah	+44 (0)1245 504 330

Media:
Mike Smith/Nick Cosgrove (Brunswick)	+44 (0)207 404 5959
Susan Turner	+44 (0)7808 098579

There will be a live-webcast of the presentation given today at 11.00am by Paul Moody (Chief Executive) and John Gibney (Group Finance Director). The webcast will be available at http://ir.britvic.com with a transcript available in due course. There will also be a conference call today at 3.00pm (10.00am Eastern Standard Time) for investors and analysts with an opportunity to ask questions.