AG Barr’s shares lose fizz after wet Scottish summer hits sales
AG BARR said gale-force winds and rain in its Scottish heartland over the summer and the absence of the Commonwealth Games this year dampened sales in the first half.
The Irn-Bru and Rubicon owner said sales fell by four per cent to £130.3m in the six months to 25 July compared with last year, when it reported a 5.6 per cent jump thanks to its sponsorship of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Chief executive Roger White, said: “It’s been a complex reporting period. Underlying sales have been tough from a comparison point of view and from a weather perspective. The weather was more atrocious in the north than in the south, which has a particularly bad business.”
The company hiked its interim dividend by eight per cent to 3.36p. However this was not enough to cheers investors as shares fell 5.7 per cent to 530p.