Britvic steps up U.S. Fruit Shoot roll-out as profits rise

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - British soft drinks group Britvic (Munich: B6S.MU - news) posted a 13.5 percent rise in first half operating profit and said its Fruit Shoot roll-out in the United States had now gone nationwide.

The group, which makes drinks such as Robinsons squash, Fruit Shoot and Tango, as well as PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP - news) brands Pepsi and 7UP in Britain and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) , on Wednesday said operating profit for the 28 weeks to April 13 had risen to 59 million pounds, slightly ahead of consensus forecasts of 57.67 million.

First (Other OTC: FSTC - news) half revenue rose 4.7 percent to 670.7 million pounds ($1.13 billion), with volumes up 3.9 percent. Britvic (LSE: BVIC.L - news) said it remained on track to post annual operating profit of 148 million to 156 million pounds for 2014. ($1 = 0.5935 British Pounds) (Reporting by Neil Maidment; editing by Sarah Young)