BRITVIC IRELAND has said it does not expect further job losses in Ireland despite declines in revenue and operating profit in its Irish operation.
Revenues at the Irish arm of UK-based soft drinks group declined by 5.6 per cent in the year to the end of September, while operating profit fell by 17 per cent.
The company’s Irish division recorded revenues of £189.5 million over the 12-month period compared to £200 million a year earlier while group operating profit fell to £12.2 million from £14.7 million.
Britvic chief executive Paul Moody said the company did not expect further job losses in Ireland, as it had “done most of the heavy lifting” in addressing problems within its Irish operation earlier this year. The company announced 145 job losses in January and the closure of plants in Cork, Ballyshannon and Waterford as part of a restructuring plan. The last two have now closed with Cork scheduled to shut its doors in 2010.
Andrew Richards, managing director of Britvic Ireland, said the results reflected a “credible performance” in an extremely difficult market. However, he added that there was no indication of a return to growth in the short term.
Mr Moody said that there was no immediate sense of a turnaround in the Irish marketplace and that there had been no improvement in trends.
“From an Irish point of view trading conditions remain extremely challenging with no sign of recovery in the short term,” Mr Richards added, but said that the company remains fundamentally strong.
Britvic remains the number one player in the Irish licensed trade and number two in grocery.
