Nichols Q1 revenues fall as international sales drop

(Sharecast News) - Soft drinks group Nichols has held on to full-year forecasts despite a mixed performance in the first quarter which saw group revenues fall nearly 6%. The company, known for Vimto as well other portfolio brands like Slush Puppie and Sunkist, announced on Wednesday that strong growth in the UK Packaged division was offset by an anticipated decline in International revenue.

UK Packaged revenues were up 6.8% on last year at £20.4m, with underlying volumes growing by 4.4%.

However, International Packaged revenues dropped 23% to £9.8m, which Nichols said was due to the phasing of shipments and strong prior-year comparatives, along with the continued "rationalisation" and focus on profitability in the Out of Home (OoH) business.

Revenues from the OoH unit - which serves post-mix soft drinks to places like cinemas and other hospitality venues - were down 6.2% at £8.6m as expected, as the company continues to withdraw from unprofitable accounts. However, these actions are having a positive effect on profits, the company said.

All in all, group revenues were down 5.9% year-on-year to £38.8m.

Nevertheless, Nichols said the board remains confident that it can hit consensus forecasts for an adjusted pre-taxp profit of £28.8m for 2024, compared with £27.2m in 2023.

Shares were down 1.3% at 986.7p by 1045 BST.