C&C Group will report its full-year results on Wednesday (16 May). Here, just-drinks takes a look at the highs and lows for the company in the 12 months to the end of February.
- In May, C&C-owned Tennents Northern Ireland sold Co Tyrone-based drinks wholesaler Quinn’s to Britvic Ireland for an undisclosed sum. Quinn’s provided drink wholesale and distribution services to about 800 outlets across Northern Ireland.
- Last year’s early summer weather helped boost sales of C&C Group’s Magners cider and paper over cracks elsewhere in the company’s portfolio. The group’s other cider brand, Gaymers, was in double-digit decline at the same time as Magners was up 11%.
- In October, the head of C&C Group John Dunsmore announced he was leaving at the end of the year, dashing expectations in some quarters that he was brought in to sell the company.
- The following month proved that C&C Group were more interested in buying than selling – it acquired the Hornsby’s brand from E&J Gallo Winery for an initial EUR16.4m (US$22.5m) to become the number two player in the US cider market.
- In December, the company readied just over 1m new shares as part of 2012’s interim dividend.
- New CEO Stephen Glancey got his tenure off to a positive start in March when he declared cider in the US was the new craft beer. “There’s a lot of people getting into cider and it will take a lot of time to get up to craft beer, but it will happen,” Glancey said.
- C&C Group looked beyond its current geographical reach with the addition of two non-executive directors with international experience to its board last month. Stewart Gilliland and Tony Smurfit both have experience of running multinational firms.