The criticism by some that it's 'just tonic' has always led those Fevertree (FEVR) bears to predict a major competitor will come in and guzzle up market share. Recent reports have emerged about rival group Britvic (BVIC) looking to launch a range of premium mixers, but Fevertree chief executive Tim Warrillow says it "[wouldn't be] the first to throw its hat into the ring". To date, Mr Warrillow says his brand has seen off at least 40 rival premium tonics.
Finance director Andy Branchflower said operational improvements, including better glass bottle prices, were a direct consequence of the newfound scale of the business which, in turn, contributed to a 2.7 percentage point improvement in annualised gross margins. The group has also nearly doubled the size of its sales team to help it service its larger accounts, which now include supermarket Asda and a growing business with airlines easyJet (EZJ) and British Airways.
House broker Investec has upgraded its forecasts and now expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £26.5m in the year to December 2016 leading to EPS of 18.3p (2015: £17.5m/12.1p).
| FEVERTREE (FEVR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 812p | MARKET VALUE: | £935m | |
| TOUCH: | 812-815p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 819p | LOW: 363p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.5% | PE RATIO: | 53 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 63p* | NET CASH: | £18.6m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 24.1 | 6.6 | 4.5 | 0.78 |
| 2016 | 40.6 | 11.8 | 8.2 | 1.54 |
| % change | +69 | +79 | +83 | +97 |
Ex-div: 11 Aug Payment: 9 Sep *Includes intangible assets of £43.5m, or 38p a share | ||||
