Vimto producer Nichols upgraded its full-year profit expectations today after trade continued to bounce back from the effects of the pandemic when out-of-home (OOH) drink sales plummeted.
In a brief update, the company revealed that its total sales in the first nine months of the year to 30 September had beat forecasts, rising 17% to £107m.
The main Vimto brand continued its good performance with brand value in the UK increasing by 4.5% YTD. International revenues climbed 36%.
Meanwhile, the Nichols OOH business continued to recover with growth of 29% as more normal trading conditions returned.
The group highlighted that uncertainty remains regarding trading in the final quarter of the year due to increasing Covid-19 infection rates in the UK. However, in light of the strong trading in the year to date, the company now expects adjusted annual pre-tax profit to come in ahead of the current market consensus. Nichols now anticipates that profit will be in the range of £21m – £22m.
The group expects its revenue momentum to continue into 2022 but stressed that the outlook for its next financial year was adversely impacted by inflationary pressures including logistics, labour and materials. As a result, it is keeping its profit expectations for 2022 unchanged.
Shares in Nichols were up around 8% following the issuing of the upbeat update.
