AG Barr has reported a £41.5m profit before tax, up 26.5% from the previous year.
Results for the year ended 30 January 2022 also showed a rise in revenue of 18.3% from £227m to £268.6m.
The soft drinks producer said its growth strategy - investing in its brand, innovation, operations and people, combined with a general market recovery - resulted in a profit performance ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
Flagship brand Irn-Bru grew in volume, revenue and gross margin, as it benefited from distribution gains in England, as well as the reintroduction of the Irn-Bru 1901 product in Scotland.
“Particularly strong growth of single serve cans and smaller PET packs, along with optimisation of promotional mix and price, supported improved margins,” the financial update noted.
Progress was made during the year on establishing Funkin as a leading consumer cocktail brand in both the take-home and hospitality sectors.
The group revealed that it had made £700,000 from the sale of its Sheffield facility, which closed in 2020.
The balance sheet was “further strengthened” on the back of the strong trading performance, with £68.4m of net cash at the bank - a £18.4m increase on the prior year after the payment of total shareholder dividends of £13.4m.
The total asset base has increased by £34.2m to £336.3m, reflecting the recent investment in MOMA Foods.
AG Barr also confirmed the recommencement of dividend payments, with recommended a interim payment of 2 pence per share and a proposed final payment of 10p, in addition to the 10p one-off special dividend paid in October.
Chief executive Roger White commented: “Our business and brands have once again proven their resilience in uncertain and often challenging circumstances.
“We have accelerated our revenue growth and consequently delivered a strong financial performance - in the year we have recommenced our dividend, alongside paying a one-off special dividend, and our balance sheet has continued to strengthen.
“Our focus on environmental sustainability has accelerated, as we increase our use of recycled materials, reduce our carbon footprint and ready our business for a successful deposit return scheme implementation, due to go live in Scotland in August 2023.”
During the year, the group completed a “full carbon footprint assessment” which enabled it to set science-based targets to guide a net zero journey.
White added: “The growth potential of our business is underpinned by our growing brands, our highly capable people and our resilient infrastructure - we plan to invest further in all of these important areas and I remain confident in our ability to deliver continued growth in both revenue and profit in the coming year.”
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