AG Barr’s chairman Ronnie Hanna steps down as sales rise
Drinks maker AG Barr has announced that its chairman, Ronnie Hanna, is retiring at the end of this year.
Board member John Nicolson will take over the role, with immediate effect.
Hanna has been chairman for five years, on the board for 11 years. Nicolson, meanwhile, has been on the board since January of last year, and is currently the senior independent non-exeucitve director.
In a management update, the Irn-Bru, Tizer and Rubicon maker also confirmed its sales rose 5.2 per cent year-on-year in the 15 weeks to May. The soft drinks market as a whole saw growth of 1.9 per cent.
It added, though, that despite macroeconomic improvement over the last few months, “the retail and consumer environment remains volatile and as competitive as ever”.
Comparative trading for last summer will be challenging for the company, but it “remains confident in delivering [its] expectations for the balance of the year”.
The board’s recommending an interim dividend of 8.19p, to be paid on 6 June.