Fevertree Drinks (AIM:FEVR) delivered a “strong” first half with consumer demand remaining healthy, particularly across Southern Europe and America.
The premium drink mixers company saw revenue growth of 14% to £160.9mln in the six months to 30 June, despite gross profit easing 4% to £60.1mln.
"Fevertree has delivered a robust revenue performance in the first half of 2022, with a particularly strong performance in Europe as the on-trade recovered,” Tim Warrillow, chief executive, commented.
However, pricing actions in its more established markets and improvements in sales only partially mitigated ongoing industry-wide inflation and rising cost headwinds, resulting in a 6.7 percentage point reduction in gross margin to 37.4%.
The tonic, ginger beer and lemonade maker, to name a few, claimed it remained the "clear market leader" in the UK, with the region accounting for 33% of total group revenue.
Fevertree also upped its interim dividend 2% year-on-year to 5.63p despite earnings per share sinking 31% to 12.1p.
The company ended the period with a “strong balance sheet,” underpinned by cash of £100mln and the payment of the £50mln special dividend announced in March.
It reiterated its full-year guidance from July, saying revenue will be between £355mln and £365mln, with EBITDA at £37.5mln to £45mln.
Fevertree had a strong start to the second half of the year, with August a standout month in the company’s history.
“Demand has been strong in the US and we have continued to increase our availability on shelf, enabling us to deliver a record month in August, a fantastic achievement by the team,” Warrillow added.
Its shares fizzed 12% higher in early morning trading to change hands at 1,064p.