Drinks group C & C said it remains confident that it can deliver strong earnings growth this year despite significant boardroom upheaval and headwinds on the consumer front.
In a trading update in advance of its annual general meeting on Thursday, the Bulmers owner also said it has appointed IDA Ireland chairman Feargal O’Rourke to the board as a non-executive director. Mr O’Rourke, the former managing partner of PwC Ireland, will join the board as an independent appointee and will also join the audit committee.
Governance at the drinks group has been in the spotlight since June when chief executive Patrick McMahon, who had been in the role for only a year, resigned abruptly as C & C restated three years of its earnings resulting in an underlying charge of €5 million.
After a plunge in its share price made the Tennants lager maker a potential takeover target, C & C made a deal with activist investor Engine Capital in August to appoint a new non-executive director.
On Thursday, C & C said Mr O’Rourke’s appointment to the board is part of an “ongoing programme of refreshment and renewal”. It said the process that led to his appointment “predates recent engagement with Engine Capital and does not impact the recently announced agreement to appoint a new non-executive director to the board.
Ralph Findlay, the C & C chairman drafted in to serve as chief executive on an interim basis, said Mr O’Rourke brings “valuable experience” to the role of independent non-executive director. “We look forward to the contribution he will make to the C & C board in the period ahead as we pursue our strategic, financial and ESG (environmental, social, governance) ambitions.
C&C – which the market expects to deliver operating profits of around €60 million in 2024 – also reaffirmed its guidance and its commitment to delivering €150 million to shareholders over the next three years in buy-backs and dividends.
“Group earnings have been in line with expectations in the financial year-to-date, despite the well-documented poor weather in June,” it said in advance of its AGM on Thursday.
The drinks group said it will proceed as stated with its plan to commence a second share buyback scheme in the coming weeks after distributing €15 million to shareholders since March 1st. The payments are part of its plan to deliver €150 million to shareholders over the next three years, including its current financial year, which concludes in February 2025.
C&C said it will provide more details on its performance this year in a half-year trading update on September 9th.
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