Commenting on the firm’s annual general meeting statement (agm), Damian McNeela, analyst with Panmure Gordon, said: “The AGM statement indicates double digit revenue growth in the first four months to the end of April. In the UK, revenue growth was supplemented by the launch of the Weight Watchers range of soft drinks in January as well as easy comparatives for the Levi Roots range, which launched in April 2011.”
Highly challenging
But the UK soft drinks market is highly challenging and it was too early to predict the firm’s export performance, he added.
However, the firm had reported solid growth in key markets in the Middle East and Africa. The key soft drink selling period will occur during the second half of the year during the Muslim religious festival of Ramadan.
Panmure Gordon concluded by repeating its buy recommendation and increasing the target price from 710p to 760p.