Investors in Irn Bru maker AG Barr PLC (LSE:BAG) will be looking for a share price catalyst in the update, with the shares slipping 8% in the year-to-date and sitting at levels seen a decade ago.
The Scottish drinks group boasted a 33% rise in first revenues and a 10% jump in like-for-like sales when it provided an update a few weeks ago, covering the headline numbers for the interim results to be announced on Tuesday, 26 September.
Regulations on sugar content, uncertainty around Scotland’s deposit return scheme, rising input costs, COVID lockdowns, carbon dioxide shortages, and more recently three months of staff strikes have all dented the soft drink company’s trading over the past few years.
Changes to consumer tastes, reflected by a drop in volumes and values of juices, lemonade, and mixers since the end of the pandemic, meant the group has diversified its portfolio by acquiring MOMA, the oat milk maker, and energy drink brand Boost—areas which have experienced robust growth in recent times.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: “Analysts will look for further detail on growth across product segments and also the mix between volume and price.
“AG Barr has flagged that profit margins will be lower this year, thanks to the sales contribution from the lower-margin MOMA and Boost operations, investment in brands and products and input cost pressures.”
Looking forward to the full year, analysts are hoping for a 3% jump in underlying profits to £46.7 million, driven by a 27% jump in revenues.
Having warned in a recent trading update that operating margins were expected to shrink in response to inflationary pressures, analysts reckon the figure could slip from 14.3% to 11.6%.
Dividends will also be in focus. The group suspended payouts during the height of the Covid pandemic but returned with a 13.1p per share return in January and analysts are hoping to see this rise to 15p within the next year.