Latest news with #RogerWhite
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
C&C must get ‘back to basics' on brands, says CEO of Bulmers firm
Roger White, who has been in post for 132 days, said criticism that C&C's branded drinks portfolio, which also includes Tennent's lager, had been stagnant for some time 'were valid'. 'I think it is an indication that we need to love what we have got a bit more first,' he told the Sunday Independent. 'I think the criticism, as you suggested, is valid. I don't think we have done anything of any material nature to stretch the brands we have got, to develop them to bring customers and consumers anything new and exciting. 'It doesn't need to be strategically earth-shattering, just stretching Bulmers and Tennent's,' he added. 'These are brands that can carry innovation, that can carry new things into the market, that can carry limited editions. They just need a bit of 'new news'. We need to keep them fresh and at the centre of consumers' minds.' White said the UK-listed drinks group had a strong balance sheet capable of making acquisitions. However, this was not his 'primary objective' at the moment, with the current focus on improving what C&C already owns. 'I think it would be stupid of me to say that we are definitely not doing anything because we have got the financial capacity, and if the right thing comes along that creates the right amount of value for shareholders, then it is incumbent on us to fully review it,' he said about acquisitions. 'But it is not our primary focus.' White was speaking after C&C released its results for the year ended February 28. While revenue was flat at €1.66bn, pre-exceptional operating profit jumped 29pc to €77.1m, with Tennent's and Bulmers securing market share gains. The positive results come after a turbulent period for C&C. Last year, the Bulmers maker's former CEO, Patrick McMahon, stood down following accounting errors at the company. Shareholder Engine Capital also called for a sale of the business, describing it as a 'perennial underperformer'. White said C&C's results for the year were 'solid rather than outstanding' as the business looks to bounce back from previous problems. 'I think this is a bit of a recovery year,' he said. 'We are happy that we put in a solid, resilient performance across the group. It is good to see customer service levels across our business recovering, giving our customers increased levels of support. 'My focus is really on simplification, focusing on execution, getting everybody focused on their customers and trying to get hold of what are great brands and make them even better by developing them and bringing something new to customers in all our markets. Something that is valuable to them, tangible and will improve all their businesses.' Asked what the market could see C&C do with its brands, White said some examples could include enhancing its low and no-alcohol offerings and bringing 'excitement and interest both in the liquid and the packaging to bear'. Magners, the UK equivalent of Bulmers, is currently undergoing a revamp in the market. White said this would include a new marketing campaign, refreshed packaging, and improving the zero-alcohol proposition 'in the short term'. 'I don't think there is any particular rocket science,' he said. 'It is just giving the brand the love it needs. 'It is a brand with lots of equity. So consumers know the brand, they recognise it, and there is no awareness issue with it. We just need to move it back up their purchase intent. That is about getting front of mind and reminding people what is great about the brand.' C&C also owns the Five Lamps lager brand in Ireland, which has been marketed as a Dublin-brewed craft beer-style product. The craft beer industry has undergone its own challenges in recent years. How will C&C enhance the Five Lamps brand? White said there was 'work to do'. 'We need to be really clear how we are going to support and get behind some of these smaller brands like Five Lamps. I think the product is good. 'If I was brutally honest, I don't think there has been a particularly well-thought-through plan of how we are going to grow and develop some of these smaller brands.' Following last year's calls from Engine Capital for C&C to sell some of its assets, the drinks group struck a deal with the US-based activist investor that would see it appoint a new non-executive director. I've still got to fully understand how the business all works, how it all fits together White said there are no reviews about selling brands. 'As far as I'm concerned, we have got a clean slate. From my point of view, that is why I took this job. I've still got to fully understand how the business all works, how it all fits together, what we can do with our brands and how we can create value over the long term for shareholders. 'I would say I have plenty of work to do to get my head around that. But, we are focused on the basics just at the minute.' Looking to the year ahead, there appears to be some optimism around C&C, reflected in its share price jumping by over 3pc in London at one stage following its results announcement. We have had a nice few weeks of weather, which always makes you feel a little bit better White, who was the boss of Irn Bru maker AG Barr, is well-versed in leading a business through a period of transformation. He is now looking forward to working on his plan, no matter the challenges that come his way. 'We have had a nice few weeks of weather, which always makes you feel a little bit better about life,' he said. 'It has been an encouraging start to the year. But, we are still very conscious that hospitality in all geographies is tough.'
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
How Bulmers owner's new chief plans to put the fizz back into former market darling
The first stock market outing of C&C Group's new chief executive, Roger White, in March had an all-too-familiar feel to it. Less than two months in the job, White presided over a warning in a trading update that the cider and beer maker's earnings for the year to the end of February were going to be 'modestly below' target. He also dropped the company's goal of reaching a €100 million operating profit in its 2027 financial year, saying it would be hit in the 'medium term' The overreaction by the stock market – with C&C's shares sliding almost 20 per cent in London – suggested a slump in confidence in a company that already lost almost 60 per cent its value over the previous five years amid a series of missteps, executive changes and disappointments. C&C has been buffeted over this period by Covid lockdowns and the need for a £151 million (€179.5 million) share sale; defeat in the US market as it accepted $20 million (€17.6 million) to get rid of a problem cider business that cost $305 million a decade earlier; inflation; and the botched initial implementation of a new warehousing software system at its UK wholesale unit. READ MORE Then, last June, it faced the ignominy of having to restate three years of accounts , resulting in a net charge of €5 million, after finding errors spanning inventory issues in its Bulmers facility in Clonmel to the accounting treatment of glassware. [ C&C shares plunge in March Opens in new window ] White, C&C's fifth chief executive in as many years, did not hold back this week when he unveiled its full-year results where operating profit rebounded 17 per cent to €77.1 million – about €3 million short of what the company had been guiding before the alert in March. While he said that the brand portfolio – including Bulmers, Tennents and Magners – had 'significant development and growth potential', some areas had 'been neglected'. 'Innovation has been somewhat absent and insight somewhat lacking,' White, who previously served for 22 years as chief executive of FTSE 250 drinks company AG Barr, told analysts on a call on Wednesday. 'Many of the historic issues experienced by C&C have been self-inflicted. Complex operating models, poor systems, and a lack of execution focus have dogged the business. We are determined to bring simplicity and executional focus to the business.' It is easy, of course, for a newcomer to pillory the past. Rebooting a group – which also includes a drinks supply business to hospitality sectors on both sides of the Irish Sea – that had lost its way is another thing. So, what are White's big ideas? For Tennents, Scotland's No 1 beer brand and C&C's biggest seller, he sees 'immediate opportunities' for zero- and low-alcohol versions that are being redeveloped. Its current offering has had mixed reviews. Bulmers, whose €63.5 million of sales last year was about half that of Tennents, will also be given a light makeover to 'revitalise the look and feel of the brand' – and a hard push in the 0.0 alcohol space. But White sees a big opportunity in Magners cider, a brand that carried the investment case when C&C was a market darling two decades ago. Magners is now a shadow of its heyday in the hot summer of 2006, when icy pints fuelled England fans as the three lions made it to the World Cup quarter-finals. C&C took back the sale and marketing of Magners in England and Wales in January – under chairman and caretaker chief executive Ralph Findlay – after eight years in the hands of Anheuser-Busch InBev. 'It's undoubtedly been a tough few years for the Magners brand,' said White. 'However, we now have a real opportunity to reinvigorate this brand, to bring it back to what it used to be. It's now back in our full control, both from a marketing perspective and from a sales execution perspective.' He cautioned, however, that 'the reinvigoration of Magners will take time and continued investment'. The Matthew Clark Bibendum (MCB) UK beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks distribution business – which C&C picked up at a deeply discounted price in a distressed sale in 2018 – has been through the wringer, losing customers as a result of a badly managed roll-out of a complex new warehousing software system a few years ago. White has first-hand experience of the problems, as AG Barr is a supplier to MCB. While MCB saw a recovery in customer numbers last year as it restored service levels, White says there is still work to do to improve the proposition for customers – including further technology investment. Shares in C&C have rallied by a third since the profit warning in March – including a gain of about 6 per cent posted this week alone. It leaves the stock trading broadly in line with the wider European beverages sector, relative to earnings forecasts, according to Goodbody Stockbrokers analyst Patrick Higgins. [ Solid year for C&C as drinks group remains resilient Opens in new window ] White certainly made the right noises this week. But some observers reckon investors will now hold out for delivery. Analysts, from Barclays to Shore Capital, now reckon it will be C&C's 2029 financial year before it reaches its €100 million operating profit target. Nothing added but time?
Irish Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Cider maker C&C hopes for a long hot summer as shares rise and annual profits hit €77m
But the company has warned that consumer confidence in the UK and Ireland 'remains subdued' and the prospect of US tariffs 'add further uncertainty'. Revenue at the group, which also owns brands including Tennent's, Orchard Pig and Five Lamps, was flat at €1.66bn for the year ended February 28. Its pre-exceptional operating profit jumped 29pc to €77.1m however, which was also in line with analysts' forecasts. The drinks firm saw Tennent's and Bulmers secure market share gains during the year, it noted. The key summer trading period lies ahead, and tourism always helps sales In Ireland, C&C said that on-trade volumes of long alcoholic drinks were in line with last year's numbers, with value growth of 9pc that reflected pricing activity and growth. 'The market saw a shift towards stout, premium beer and ready-to-drink categories, with standard lager and cider seeing share declines,' it added. 'Positively, tourism provided a welcome tailwind to the industry, with international visitor spend estimated to have increased 13pc in the year.' In the off-trade sector, long alcoholic drink volumes fell 5pc (2pc by value). Cider category volume and value declined 6pc and 3pc respectively in the year. 'The large supermarket operators have responded with increased targeted advertising campaigns and deep discounting promotions as actions to stimulate category volume,' noted C&C. C&C also owns the Matthew Clark-Bibendum distribution business in the UK. It said the unit saw 'recovering customer momentum' in the year, with numbers of customers up 8pc. ADVERTISEMENT Despite the group's optimism for 2025, it said that total employment costs in the UK will rise in the coming year – due to the increase in Britain's national minimum wage, and in employer national insurance contributions. It said the planned Extended Producer Responsibility Levy in the UK, a tax on producers' packaging, will also have an impact. Tax and the Deposit Return Scheme that is already in effect in Ireland 'will cause further price inflation, as these costs and taxes are passed on to customers and consumers,' it said. 'With the key summer trading period ahead, we are executing our plans for the year, supporting our customers, investing in innovation and brand-building, people, and systems, whilst continuing to simplify the business and control costs,' said chief executive Roger White.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
C&C Group profits grow despite wet summer hitting cider sales
C&C Group has enjoyed higher annual profits despite rainy weather dampening cider sales last summer. The Magners and Bulmers producer revealed its adjusted earnings before nasties increased by 18.3 per cent to €112million in the 12 months ending 28 February. Its pre-tax profits also totalled €19.6million, against a €111.6million loss in the prior year, when the firm took a €125million impairment charge related to difficult trading conditions in the UK cider market. Wet weather continued to impact cider consumption across the UK and Ireland over the summer of 2024. Consequently, the company's branded business saw volumes of Magners decline by 5 per cent and net sales of Bulmers fall by 2 per cent in Ireland during the year. In addition, volumes of Tennent's lager decreased by 6 per cent, which C&C blamed not just on bad weather but also on the predicted 200,000 Scottish fans travelling to Germany for the Euro 2024 football tournament. However, C&C's overall net revenue still jumped by 13 per cent to €1.67billion, partly thanks to rising customer levels in its Matthew Clark Bibendum distribution arm. Roger White, chief executive of C&C, remarked: 'The group has progressed on a number of fronts over the last year, despite the ongoing challenging macro and market backdrop.' White took over C&C at the start of 2025 following a two-decade spell running Irn-Bru manufacturer AG Barr. His predecessor, Patrick McMahon, stood down after just 13 months in charge owing to accounting errors the FTSE 250 firm made while he was its finance boss. White said trading so far this year had been 'encouraging' in both of its core divisions, supported by higher demand for long alcoholic drinks in on-trade venues. Having hedged a majority of its major cost lines for the current financial year, C&C is optimistic about attaining its full-year earnings forecasts. Retail and hospitality companies face significant cost headwinds over the next year due to tax and minimum wage hikes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in last Autumn's Budget. From last month, the National Living Wage went up by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 per hour, while employers' National Insurance contributions increased to 15 per cent on annual salaries above £5,000, from 13.8 per cent on wages exceeding £9,100. Many trading groups and hospitality businesses have warned that the measures will lead to redundancies, reduced investment and venue closures. C&C Group shares were 1.4 per cent up at 157p on early Wednesday afternoon and have grown by around 7.5 per cent so far this year.
The Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Profits recover at Magners maker C&C Group
Beer and cider maker C&C Group has seen profits rebound after progressing with turnaround plans. The company, which makes Magners and Tennent's, saw shares lift higher on Wednesday as a result. C&C reported a group operating profit of 45.8 million euro (£38.5 million) for the year to February 28, recovering from a 84.4 million euro (£70.9 million) loss a year earlier. The group said this was driven by its renewed growth strategy, after criticism from some investors over its performance in recent years. Bosses said the company are 'focusing on the basics' as part of this, with plans for further investment in its core brands and by simplifying processes and making operations more efficient. C&C said its efficiency drive has seen it close, or start the process to close, five depots in order to streamline its distribution network. The group said it is also looking to simplify its corporate structure by heavily reducing the group's roughly 30 separate legal entities. It came as the company reported net revenues of 1.66 billion euro (£1.4 billion) for the past year. This represented a marginal improvement on the previous year, despite poor weather last summer weighing down on demand for cider. Roger White, who took over as boss of the firm earlier this year, was optimistic for the rest of the year amid increased investment. He said: 'Looking ahead, year to date trading is encouraging. 'With the key summer trading period ahead, we are executing our plans for the year, supporting our customers, investing in innovation and brand-building, people, and systems, whilst continuing to simplify the business and control costs. 'We remain focused on building a solid platform from which we can maximise the potential of the group. 'We are developing plans to grow sustainably whilst delivering on our financial targets, creating increased long-term shareholder value.'
