A resurgence in the popularity of Vimto helped Nichols plc (LON:NICL) deliver record revenues last year.
Sales of the fruit cordial, which marked its 110th birthday in 2018, increased 12.9% in 2018 as it “significantly outperformed” its peers and gained market share.
The UK business as a whole put in an “excellent performance”, Nichols said, with sales jumping 12.6% to £114.6mln in the 12 months ended 31 December.
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Things were more difficult abroad, where sales to the Middle East were held back by the ongoing conflict in Yemen as well as the timing of shipments to Saudi Arabia.
As a result, total international sales dropped to £27.4mln (2017: £31.0mln), despite a decent showing in Africa.
Still, the performance in the UK, by far Nichols’ largest market, more than offset that, as group sales rose almost 7% to an all-time high of £142.0mln (2017: £132.8mln).
Shares rose 3.6% to 1,491.2p.