Britvic stock rose 3% despite lower demand

Britvic (BVIC.UK) shares were up over 3% despite the coronavirus pandemic hitting demand. Soft drinks maker which owns brands such as Teisseire, Tango, Fruit Shoot, and J20 reported that adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to £165.8 million ($221.91 million) for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, from £214.1 million a year earlier. However, the company’s basis EPS, that does not includes adjusting items jumped 16.3% year over year. The company reports adjusting items in its earnings for better comparison from prior periods. Revenues in fiscal year 2020 fell 8.6% year over year to £1.41 billion.
Britvic announced a final dividend per share of 21.6p, which is in line with its policy of maintaining a 50% payout of its adjusted earnings. The company managed to bring down its adjusted net debt by £45.8 million in the fiscal year. Also Britvic signed a new agreement with PepsiCo (PEP.US), for an exclusive 20-year franchise for the production, distribution, marketing and sales of the US giant’s carbonated soft drink brands in the UK.