Investors will be hoping for another serving of positive news when resilient beverages business AG Barr (BAG) delivers its trading update for the year ended 25 January 2025 on 28 January. However, cooling UK consumer confidence since the Budget combined with recent cold weather suggests guidance upgrades are unlikely.

The FTSE 250 firm, whose brands include Irn-Bru, Rubicon and Boost, is rebuilding its margins, taking share in the soft drinks market and accelerating the growth of acquired branded porridge-to-plant-based milk business MOMA.

First-half results (24 September) revealed robust revenue growth, up 5.2% to £221.3 million including a 7% increase in soft drinks sales driven by both volume and price. This performance was all the more impressive given poor summer weather and a testing prior year comparative, with Rubicon the star soft drinks performer and iconic Scottish fizzy drink Irn-Bru generating market share gains.

AG Barr, whose relatively new CEO Euan Sutherland is confident of ‘continued, sustainable growth over the long term’, also delivered a 50 basis point year-on-year operating margin increase to 13% as the company continues to rebuilds its return on sales following a period of rising costs, and analysts reckon there is more margin upside to come.

At the time of the results, Sutherland said he anticipated a strong second half performance from AG Barr’s four core brands – Irn-Bru, Rubicon, Boost and FUNKIN – in particular, underpinned by ‘further marketing and innovation activities’.

Shore Capital forecasts adjusted pre-tax profits of £57 million for the year to January 2025, bubbling up to £65 million in full-year 2026, with cash-rich AG Barr expected to declare a 17.2p dividend for full-year 2025, rising to 19.6p in full-year 2026. 

UK UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS

FULL-YEAR RESULTS

28 Jan: SThree

29 Jan: Velocity Composites

30 Jan: Shell

FIRST-HALF RESULTS

30 Jan: ITM Power, Rank Group

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

24 Jan: Burberry, Paragon Banking

27 Jan: Dr. Martens

28 Jan: Barr (A.G.), Computacenter

29 Jan: Ceres Power Holdings

30 Jan: Airtel Africa, BT, Sage, St James’s Place, Wizz Air

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