Japanese beverage firm, Suntory Beverage & Food Limited said on Tuesday that half-year sales and profit for 2017 was lifted by focus on strengthening its brands and creating new demand as well as managing cost structure and product quality improvements.
The company which makes Lucozade and Ribena said that revenue for its non-alcoholic beverages and foods grew 1.7% in the half-year through end of June to ¥685.7bn yen ($6.2bn), from ¥674.4bn ($6.09bn) in the same period in 2016.
Japanese Beverage and Food Company Suntory Beverages & Food Limited reported flat sales of -0.1% in its first quarter 2017. Total revenue for the three months ending in March fell to ¥308.9bn ($2.7bn).
However, the company said that it was able to boost profit by focusing on strengthening its brands, creating new demand, reforming its cost structure and improving product quality.
Suntory Food & Beverage Limited, reported its 2016 full-year results, with sales increasing 2.1% to ¥1.4 trillion yen ($12.3bn).
The maker of Lucozade and Ribena said it achieved higher revenue growth as a result of aggressive marketing and cost reduction initiatives it carried out on its main brands.
Japanese food and beverage firm, Suntory Holdings wants its obese employees to get into shape. The company has offered its employees a chance to go to a weight lose camp where they will learn how to eat and drink in moderation at social events and how to exercise.
Suntory’s personnel department said that the company has more ‘obese-leaning employees’ than a typical company. Therefore it has devised a means to improve the health of its employees.
Lucozade and Ribena, two famous brands of Japanese Food and Beverage Company, Suntory said it will cut 50% of the sugar content in its drinks in the UK and Ireland by next summer. The announcement comes ahead of a proposed sugar tax on sweetened beverages set to go into effect in both countries in 2018.
The company said it would reformulate all its drinks to contain less than 4.5g of total sugar per 100ml – the equivalent of one teaspoon. Currently, the drinks contain 13g and 10g of sugar per 100ml serving respectively.
Suntory Holdings, the group company that owns Suntory Food and Beverage Limited, said that group revenue fell 0.23% to ¥1.97 trillion yen (approx. $18.7bn) in the first nine months of 2016. However, operating income rose 14.1% to ¥149bn yen ($1.4bn).
Suntory Food and Beverage segment boosted sales 4.4% to ¥1.06 trillion yen ($10bn) in the nine months to September, helped by a strengthening of its brands, creation of new demand for its products, bolstering profitability by reforming its cost structure and improving product quality based on insights from other group companies.
Suntory Beverage & Food Limited, the Japanese parent of the newly acquired GSK Consumer Nigerian Plc unit, said on Friday that half-year profits fell 4.8% to ¥17.9bn yen ($177m).
The beverage company which derived 38% of its half-year sales from overseas markets said that a stronger yen affected earnings growth. Net income would have risen 3.1% if it wasn’t for currency volatility, the company said. Suntory is forecasting further decline in profits for the rest of the year, with ¥40.5 billion yen forecasted for the 12-month period.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc (“GSK Consumer Nigeria”) said on Monday that shareholders of the company have approved the sale of its beverage unit to Suntory Beverage & Food Nigeria Limited.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc (GSK Nigeria) has put to rest fears of planned lay-offs post sale of its beverage business to Suntory.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos, GSK’s company Secretary, Mr. Uchenna Uwechia, said that the company’s Board of Directors has accepted Suntory Beverage & Food Limited offer to buy its beverage bottling and distribution business.
He noted that the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has been informed of its proposed plan to sell its beverage business as part of a post listing requirement of the exchange.
GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc (“GSK Nigeria”) said on Wednesday, it has accepted and is recommending to its shareholders, a binding offer from Suntory Beverage & Food Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Suntory Beverage and Food Limited (“SBF”) of Japan, for the sale of its beverage unit, which includes bottling and distribution of Ribena, Lucozade and part of its Agbara plant.
