Liverpool city region Vimto maker Nichols pays £20m to shareholders in a bumper special dividend despite slight fall in pre-tax profits. Tony McDonough reports
Soft drinks firm Nichols is paying shareholders a special dividend of £20m as it reports rising revenues but a slight fall in pre-tax profits.
Vimto-make Nichols, which is based in Newton-le-Willows unveiled its realist for the year to December 31, 2024, to the stock exchange on Tuesday morning. It revealed sales for the 12-month period were £172.8m – up from £170.7m last year.
Nichols sells the famous Vimto brand in more than 60 countries around the world. It is also behind the SLUSH PUPPiE Feel Good, Starslush, ICEE, Levi Roots and Sunkist soft drink brands.
Vimto is particularly popular in the Muslim world during the holy month of Ramadan. It provides a quick boost of sugar-filled energy following the dawn ’til dusk fast.
These latest results revealed a 0.9% fall in pre-tax profits to £24m. Nichols incurred £7.4m of exceptional items during the year due to investments into its Business Change Programme and systems development.
It said its shareholders would receive a total dividend of 32p per share, 13.4% higher than last year, as well as a special one-off payment of 54.8p per share.
Overall packaged revenue, where it sells to major retailers and wholesalers, increased by 4.4%, with UK Packaged sales increasing by 6.3%, largely driven by innovation and distribution gains.
International Packaged revenue increased by 0.8%, as expected, due to the shift to a concentrate model Out of Home, which includes sales to hospitality outlets, saw revenue fall by 8.2% in line with the group’s expectations following the strategic exit from unprofitable accounts delivering significant improvement in profitability.
READ MORE: Morgan Sindall to deliver £61m Liverpool lab and office scheme
READ MORE: Liverpool city region heads to French Riviera for MIPIM expo
Nichols chief executive, Andrew Milne, said: “Nichols delivered another strong performance in 2024, delivering double digit PBT growth and improved gross margin as we continued to successfully execute our growth strategy.
“In the UK, Vimto reached its highest ever retail sales value, demonstrating the enduring appeal of our iconic brand, driven by expanded distribution, new product innovation and our biggest ever marketing campaign, Love the Taste.
“A strong performance in our international business was driven by volume growth in the Middle East during our 101st Ramadan in the region, as well as significant strategic progress across Africa as we transitioned to a margin-enhancing concentrate model in several markets.”