It had the makings of being an extremely painful year for companies in the soft drinks sector. Conviviality Retail, the owner of Bargain Booze, collapsed into administration; the government’s sugar tax came into effect and there was a shortage of carbon dioxide that interrupted bottling, including at a factory producing drinks for Coca-Cola.
In practice, however, while they suffered their share of price volatility, companies in the sector performed rather well over the 12 months, turning in respectable increases in revenues and profits for the periods they have reported so far. They have adapted their product lines quickly to the new tax and absorbed the impact of Conviviality, whose retail division was acquired by Bestway, the grocery wholesaler.
In a recent sector note, analysts at