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Barr (AG) (BAG) – Finals PTP: £21.3m (£19.1m) Divi: 39p (35p)

Despite the impact of the 2007 summer on soft drink sales, sales of Barr’s iconic Irn-Bru continued to grow. Although the group has sought to widen its portfolio the results are still dominated by Irn-Bru and to a lesser extent Strathmore water. Overall like-for-like sales increased by 2.7%. Margins improved 80 basis points reflecting the first benefits of the restructuring programme. There should be further benefits this year following the closure of the Atherton facility and increased efficiency at Cumbernauld. Despite heavy capex the group had cash of £17.9 million at the year end. This year has started encouragingly with sales up 3%, and house broker Investec is forecasting earnings of 81.9p a share, placing the stock on a PE of 14.7.

Shares says: A solid company, the shares should continue to perform well.

by: John Marshall