Yahoo Finance Irn-Bru deliveries hit by truck driver and fuel chaos
The maker of Irn-Bru has warned supply chain turmoil is hitting customer deliveries, amid concerns petrol panic buying could worsen the situation.
AG Barr said it had seen “increased challenges across the UK road haulage fleet, associated in part with the Covid pandemic, impacting customer deliveries and inbound materials” in recent weeks.
It marks the latest business to caution over lorry driver shortages – with the shortfall estimated at about 100,000 drivers – resulting in pressure across the food and drink industry.
Last week petrol stations became the latest to take a hit, after it emerged that a shortage of specialist fuel delivery drivers meant some stations were receiving less petrol and diesel than normal.
News of the fuel driver shortage sparked panic buying, resulting in long queues and some forecourts closing.
Roger White, the chief executive of AG Barr, said there was a risk that the scramble for petrol could start to affect the business if it continued.
“The current fuel situation is not having any material impact on us today, but if things don’t improve, then that could have an impact,” he said.
“If consumers behave rationally and don’t put the supply chain under stress, then we understand there is plenty of supply.”
The comments came as AG Barr said sales rose by almost a fifth for the six months to Aug 1 to £135.3m compared with the same period last year.
Pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items jumped 43pc to a record £23.7m.
AG Barr said it would start paying dividends again after the “positive first half performance”, with an interim payout of 2p per share and a special dividend of 10p.
Demand for “on the go” drinks recovered in the first half of the year, although Mr White said it was not quite at pre-pandemic levels yet.
AG Barr said there was still strong appetite for its at-home Funkin cocktails despite the reopening of pubs and bars, with sales more than double this time last year.
The company said it remained on track for annual profits to come in ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
Shares fell 1.5pc to 531p.
