Revenues expected to rise at IRN-BRU maker AG Barr

AG Barr, the Scottish soft drink firm behind Irn-Bru, said its revenue for the 26 weeks to 28 July is expected to top £136mn, marking a 5% increase on the same period last year.

AG Barr described the performance as “especially positive” given the 8.8% growth reported for the same period in 2017, which the company said was its ‘best ever year of sales.’ 

In a trading update, the FTSE 250 firm said that its core brands which include Rubicon, Strathmore and Funkin performed well thanks to the positive weather conditions in the UK.

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AG Barr said that its flagship brand, IRN-BRU has “continued its positive growth momentum”, with regular IRN-BRU reporting an increase in volume and value share alongside the strong growth of its IRN-BRU XTRA brand. 
 
AG Barr said that the firm has continued to invest in its established brands and innovation pipeline to help tackle the 'volatile' external landscape. 

The Scottish company said that the implementation for the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in the UK - a tax to reduce sugar in soft drinks - would have an impact on the soft drinks sector.

Roger White, Chief Executive Officer, said: "We have delivered strong top-line growth in a period of considerable marketplace volatility and change.  

“Our growth across core brands is especially encouraging and our strong second half brand and sales development plans give us confidence that we can deliver against our profit expectations.”