Preliminary Results

Barr(A.G.) PLC
26 March 2007


For Immediate Release                                         26th March 2007





                                A.G.BARR p.l.c.

                     PRELIMINARY RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED

                               27th JANUARY 2007


  A.G.BARR p.l.c. the soft drinks group announces its preliminary results today
                    for the 12 months to 27th January 2007.


Key Points


   • Profit on ordinary activities before tax and exceptional items increased
     by 6.7% to £19.1 million (2006 - £17.9 million).
   • Turnover increased by 10.2% to £141.9 million (2006 £128.8 million).
   • An increased final dividend of 24.75p per share to give a total dividend
     for the year of 35.00p per share, an increase of 10.2% over the previous
     year.
   • The Strathmore water business was acquired on 1st June and fully
     integrated into the Barr business.
   • The IRN-BRU brand increased both revenue and market share.
   • Strong performance from still drinks portfolio.
   • Cash flow remaining strong despite capital programme and Strathmore
     integration with £19 million cash at bank.
   • Scottish supply chain restructuring programme fully operational; site
     consolidation completed and Head Office relocated to Cumbernauld.



Commenting on the results Chairman, Robin Barr, said:


'I am delighted with the progress the business has made over the last year. The
investment in improving our assets and developing our brand portfolio
demonstrates our continued confidence in the long-term potential of A.G.Barr'.



Commenting Roger White, Chief Executive said:


'This has been a challenging but ultimately successful year.


We have delivered a strong financial performance at the same time as making
significant improvements to the operational base of the business. In the second
half of the year we also successfully completed the integration of the
Strathmore business.


We are now focused on delivering the financial benefits of all our investments.


Sales in the first seven weeks are 13% ahead, on a like for like basis,
reflecting changes in promotional phasing - underlying sales remain in-line with
expectations'.



For more information, please contact:


A.G.Barr Tel: [phone]         Buchanan Communications Tel: [phone]

Roger White, Chief Executive       Tim Thomson / Nicola Cronk

Iain Greenock, Finance Director



Chairman's Statement


Review of results

I am pleased to report that profit on ordinary activities before taxation for
the year to January 2007 was - excluding exceptional items - £19.1m compared
with £17.9m for the previous year. This was a very satisfactory performance
during a year in which the excellent summer weather masked to a degree the
ongoing challenge of the structural changes taking place within the soft drinks
market in the UK. In addition our company faced abnormal internal pressures both
in respect of our major infrastructure project in Scotland and the integration
of the Strathmore Water business purchased in June 2006.


The exceptional items this year produced a net charge of £2.8m. They represented
a £2.7m provision for the closure costs at our Atherton site during 2007/08 and
a balance of £2.4m in respect of the costs related to the re-organisation of our
Scottish operations - against this the disposal of property in Scotland, which
became redundant as part of the re-organisation project, produced a gain of
£2.3m.


Turnover for the year to January 2007 was £141.9m - an increase of 10.2% over
that achieved the previous year. Adjusting for the turnover of the Strathmore
Water business from the date of acquisition, the like-for-like increase was
3.0%.


Basic earnings per share have risen from 65.06p to 69.65p and your directors are
pleased to recommend a final dividend of 24.75p per share to give a total
dividend for the year to January 2007 of 35.00p - an increase of 10.2%.



People

Our strong performance during a particularly challenging year was made possible
by the ongoing commitment of all our employees. On behalf of our external
shareholders I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once more - but
particularly those who were affected during the year either by the actual or the
proposed future changes within our operations.



Defined benefit pension schemes

The result of the triennial actuarial valuation of our two defined benefit
pension schemes at 1st November, 2005 was reported at the time of our half year
results. Following receipt of the valuations the trustees consulted with members
and the board of directors and, subsequently, increased levels of funding were
introduced for both schemes. This has resulted in adjustments to both company
contributions and the future level of benefits and contribution rates of
members. The total revised annual contribution from both the company and members
is calculated by the appointed actuary to achieve full funding of the schemes
within ten years.


Prospects

The completion of our major infrastructure changes will leave us better placed
to continue to compete successfully in the UK soft drinks market. Soft drinks
remain a growth category but increasingly consumers are demanding a wider range
of products to match their individual lifestyles. Carbonates do however remain
and will continue to be a substantial part of the total market and we believe
that within carbonates differentiated brands, which are appropriately marketed,
will continue to achieve success. Our own development plans are designed to meet
both changing consumer demands and to ensure the continuing success of our
existing core portfolio.


Robin Barr, Chairman


Chief Executive's Statement

Delivering our promises


Financial performance

Over the past twelve months we have implemented a huge amount of planned
operational change across our business. This change programme has stretched the
business in the short term but importantly it means we are now operationally
better placed to meet future challenges in our sector.


Despite this intense activity our financial performance has again made good
progress with pre tax profit, before exceptionals, increasing by 6.7% from
£17.9m to £19.1m.


Our total sales grew 10.2% from £128.8m to £141.9m including £9.3m of revenue
from the eight months of sales following the acquisition of the Strathmore
business in June 2006. Underlying sales increased by 3.0% during the year
reflecting the continuing strong performance of our core brands and the positive
impact of the summer weather. We have maintained our value based strategy and
increased our average realised price per litre (PPL) across the year as a
consequence of both improved product and channel mix and a continued lower than
market average level of price promotion in the take home channel.


Operating profit before exceptionals increased by 8.2% and as expected operating
margin eased slightly from 13.2% to 12.9%. This reflects the addition of the
Strathmore water business with its current lower operating margins. During the
first half of the year, we achieved modest price increases which helped off set
the continued pressure on margins from rising input costs.


Capital spend during 2006/07 was historically high at £14.5m reflecting the
number and scale of investment projects undertaken over the course of the year.


During the past twelve months we instigated the following operational changes:


1) The completion of the Cumbernauld selling, distribution and warehouse
   facility.

2) The consolidation and closure of six Scottish operating sites.

3) The purchase and commencement of installation of a new high speed can
   line at Cumbernauld.

4) The announcement and subsequent consultation process related to the
   closure of the Atherton site during financial year 2007/08.

5) Further investment and restructuring of our Mansfield manufacturing
   site.

6) The closure of the Bristol sales depot.

7) Completion and move into a new Head Office building at our Cumbernauld
   site.


On 1st June 2006 we completed the purchase of the Strathmore Water business for
£15m from Constellation Brands Inc. This acquisition will allow us to compete in
the high growth bottled water market from a position of increased strength.
Strathmore is the 4th largest UK water brand by retail value and the leading
brand in the on-trade and hotels/catering sector.


The Strathmore integration process has now been successfully completed.
Investment in the brand will begin in 2007/08 and further investments in the
associated operating infrastructure will also be made.


The purchase of Strathmore and our high capital spend has naturally had an
impact on cash flow during this period. However as a consequence of continued
strong focus on cash management we exit the year with £19m of cash in the bank.


Strategy

The strategy we have employed for the last four years continues to be both
relevant and appropriate to the challenges we face. Our efforts are focused on:


-          Core brands and markets

-          Portfolio development

-          Route to market

-          Partnerships

-          Efficient operations


We try to ensure that the correct balance of time and effort is achieved between
each of these key areas. It remains our aim to build a business capable of
sustained, profitable long-term growth in the soft drinks market.



The market

The total soft drinks market has enjoyed another year of strong growth with
value sales increased by 9.9% as measured by Nielsen. The exceptional weather
during the early summer delivered an incremental boost to many categories and
carbonates was no exception with annual value growth of 3.0% and sales value in
June, July and August up 5.8% versus the same period in the previous year.


To some extent the weather patterns masked the continued shift in consumer
behaviour. Still drinks, water and fruit juice experienced higher levels of
growth than that achieved by carbonates. Mainstream, non differentiated, fruit
carbonates in take home channels continued to struggle. However quality,
differentiated products and strong regional brands have shown further growth.


We continue to make good progress in adapting our business to match consumers'
needs. Our broad range of quality, well supported and differentiated carbonate
brands has been complemented by our increasing still portfolio. During the past
twelve months we have accelerated the increase in the proportion of still
products in our business. At the same time we have seen our carbonate brands
continue to grow despite the challenging environment.


Our focus on value growth is an important part of our strategy. Our PPL on core
brands has increased by 7% over the last twelve months due to a combination of
improvements in overall product price, product mix and promotional mix. This is
the 4th year of steady PPL improvement and reflects the consistency of our
approach. However in the coming year, depending on market conditions, we
forecast there is potential to increase our promotional investment behind volume
growth on core brands especially in take home channels.



Refreshing our infrastructure

During the past twelve months, we have completed the planned consolidation of
our Scottish supply chain with the opening of our £17m sales and distribution
facility at Cumbernauld and the consequential closure of six operating sites in
Scotland. This project was concluded during the second half of financial year
2006/07 despite huge difficulties created by the main contractor going into
receivership in May 2006 and the consequent delays to the project. The actual
completion of our site consolidation process was in January 2007 some four
months later than originally planned. We are now operating from a world class
facility. The task for the coming year relates to the optimisation of the site
and delivery of the full operational cost savings which should reach the
annualised sum of £2.5m during the course of the next twelve months.


We relocated to our new Head Office at Cumbernauld at the end of January 2007,
when the transfer of our supply chain operations was completed. This was later
than initially planned, but I can report that, due to the significant efforts of
all those involved, the move was completed without any unforeseen disruption.


During the year we also announced the closure of our Atherton site and the
consequential £6.5m investment in a new canning facility at our Cumbernauld
factory. This investment is now well on the way to completion - the can line is
currently being commissioned and the Atherton site is planned to close in May
2007. The Atherton operation has, over the past year, performed at extremely
high levels of overall efficiency reflecting the commitment and skills of the
Atherton team, which will be missed in the future.



Core brands and markets

Long-term investment combined with innovation throughout our portfolio has
delivered strong performance across our brands. Our ability to segment the
market place and consumers to a high degree has helped us grow our core brands
by providing the right brand, packs and promotional mix through the best channel
to the right consumers throughout the UK.


The IRN-BRU brand has again grown over the past twelve months - showing value
share, as measured by Nielsen, up 4% nationally. Growth in England and Wales was
pleasing where we improved our market share by 14%. Our IRN-BRU business in the
impulse channel grew strongly but this masked the weaker performance in multiple
grocers where the percentage of product sold on deal fell, as we promoted less
aggressively than our competitors - the performance in multiples is something we
plan to address in 2007/08. IRN-BRU, however, is now on a national basis larger
by volume than each of Lilt, 7up, Sprite and total Tango.


The successful launch of IRN-BRU 32 into the energy drinks market took place in
March 2006 - the first full scale IRN-BRU launch for twenty six years. This
market offers high growth but is competitive; the market leader holds a very
strong position. IRN-BRU 32 has sold 7m cans since launch and has maintained
strong distribution and rate of sale throughout the year. As with all brands the
development of lasting brand strength will require continued investment. Last
year 'Derek the Cuckoo' the face of IRN-BRU 32 was used extensively in media
campaigns across Scotland and the North of England and this will continue. We
are pleased that around 50% of all IRN-BRU 32 has been bought in England and
Wales, helping the total IRN-BRU brand development south of the border.


Tizer performance stabilised half way through 2006 and is now set to strengthen
with the launch of 'new original recipe Tizer'. The new product matches consumer
preferences with great taste, real fruit juice and no artificial flavours,
colours or sweeteners. The striking new packaging and strong commercial support
should ensure that this recently underperforming brand is now well positioned to
regain the growth lost over the past two years.


The change in strategy for the Orangina brand from a volume to value basis has
worked well - Orangina has grown by 9% in value in the last year and listings of
key smaller impulse packs including the glass bulby bottle have substantially
increased. Further investment and activity is planned during 2007/08 to ensure
that the current momentum is maintained.


The acquisition of the Strathmore business has given us the opportunity to build
a strong brand in the water category, a sector with high growth potential. Since
the acquisition in June 2006 we have focused on integrating the business,
improving core operational processes and the initial plans for launching the
brand into the impulse channel. This first phase is now complete and we are
commencing our brand building phase, which will deliver considerable opportunity
to grow the business while maintaining our overall focus on value and sustaining
profitable long-term growth.


Over the last year, our regional brand portfolio including KA, D'n'B, Red Kola,
Rubicon and Barr flavours performed strongly with 9% growth - the benefit of
focusing on regional strengths. These high quality, great tasting 'local' brands
out-performed many large national brands within their geographies. This gave us
the opportunity to offer customers dynamic trading packages which included
strong selling local favourites as well as our national brands.



Portfolio development

It is crucial that our portfolio covers all key sectors. During the last year,
we made good progress in meeting this objective. The combination of our move
into the energy sector with IRN-BRU 32, developing our still 'good for you'
portfolio and acquiring Strathmore, all highlight our efforts to broaden and
develop our portfolio.


Our still fruit drinks brands, St Clements Originals and Simply, went from
strength to strength with sales of over £5.0m up over 60% on the previous year.
With a core proposition of excellent product quality and strong packaging
communication we have, even with minimal advertising spend, continued to deliver
strong growth.


Flexibility needs to go hand in hand with innovation, especially when supplying
soft drinks to schools. When there were changes in legislation we responded by
quickly adapting our ranges. Further changes are likely and we will remain
responsive and flexible in meeting the sector's requirements.


In 2007/08, we will continue to develop our portfolio. There will be further
activity in key growth sectors but we will maintain support to our existing core
brands.



Route to market

Much of our investment in capital and effort has gone into improving our
infrastructure, capability and performance in our key routes to market. The
impulse channel and the routes to serve this market are vital to profitable
growth in soft drinks. Our commitment to Direct to Store Delivery (DSD)
emphasised by our investment in our Scottish infrastructure project will
strengthen our service, as well as improve our efficiency, in this key channel.
We have also improved our Wholesale and Cash and Carry performance with
increased management support and focus which has increased sales in this sector
over the last two years.


The on-trade channel has been a weakness within our route to market strategy. We
have started to tackle this with investment in sales resource and the portfolio
developments of IRN-BRU 32 and Strathmore. These give us immediate critical mass
in this channel where we have historically been under-represented. Following the
Strathmore acquisition, our relationship with Matthew Clark the UK wholesale
drinks division of Constellation Inc, gives us a new and exciting route to
market within the on-trade which we hope to develop further over the coming
years.



Partnerships

The quality and strength of our business is increased by strong long-term
partnerships. We have developed these with our key suppliers and a number of
adjacent businesses with whom we have cemented strong commercial relationships.


Our relationship with Orangina International has made good progress over the
last year. The Orangina brand in the UK is now strong and performing well and,
when added to the Snapple brand which we also manage for Orangina International,
has improved our overall portfolio. Snapple annual sales are now in excess of
£1m.


Our alliance with Rubicon continues to develop to our mutual benefit. We provide
operational and route to market expertise, complementing the strong brand and
product appeal of the Rubicon portfolio.


Developing our international business relies on successful partnerships. Last
year we signed a new six year deal with Pepsi Bottling Group, our partner in
Russia. They have delivered an excellent performance, despite continued complex
operational issues in the Russian bottling system. Sales have grown by 20% and
IRN-BRU is now the 10th largest carbonated brand in Moscow supermarkets.


Although IRN-BRU proved a success in trials in the Polish market, our 2006
launch plans were hindered by poor local execution and production issues. We are
committed to getting the brand into distribution in Poland to meet the certain
demand that exists but we have yet to establish the winning partnership to
deliver this. Further work is ongoing to meet our objectives. On a more positive
note performance in Australia is encouraging, with sales of 500,000 litres in
2006/07 and strong plans to increase growth levels. Sales in Spain have also
been positive and finished the year up 81% following changes in our distributor
base. Interest in the brand across a number of international markets is high and
our efforts are focused on establishing successful partnerships in the most
promising markets.


Strong relationships across our supply base have allowed us to successfully
manage some of the inherent purchasing risks linked to commodity price
fluctuations for several of our key input materials. In partnership with our
suppliers we will continue to look for opportunities to reduce risk.



Efficient operations

The continuous improvement of our operating efficiency is critical. Our capital
investment programme over the last year has given us the opportunity to step
change our operational cost profile. This structural change heralded fewer but
larger and more efficient sites for manufacturing and with the consolidation of
our delivery and warehousing systems in Scotland it will provide us with the
opportunity to improve service, inventory management and costs. The changes in
Scotland alone will see a reduction of 250,000 miles per year in primary
transport movements.


Many of our actions over the last three years have involved major infrastructure
change to deliver more efficient operations. While this will continue, we are
now looking for efficiency gains from new areas. Areas of future opportunity
include: optimising our factories through improved forecasting and inventory
management, reducing costs in our 'back office' and improving our 'cost to
serve' in our DSD operations.


At a local operating level all of our teams maintain a strong focus on cost
control and efficiency helping us to collectively make many small changes toward
significant efficiency gains.



People

The scale and pace of our infrastructure improvement programme has meant that
everybody has been affected by change - whether positive or negative. The effort
and commitment demonstrated across the whole company during 2006/07 was
exceptional. Without this our financial performance during such an intense
period of change would undoubtedly have suffered. I am grateful to everyone for
their efforts.


Many members of the team have benefited from more training and development which
we actively encourage. We continue to increase investment in providing
individuals with the tools and techniques which they need to improve business
performance in the future. Over the last year, we have started a Business
Leadership Programme through which we have already placed a significant number
of our key managers. Following a successful first year of linking individual
performance to reward we are rolling out this process across a further level in
the business over the next twelve months.


Change is often uncomfortable and brings increased levels of anxiety and concern
- we have experienced this over the last twelve months. However, I hope that our
principles of giving early communication of major plans and treating all
employees with respect have gone a long way to minimise the personal impact of
any negative change.


Outlook

The business has performed well, despite the many challenges we have faced over
the last twelve months.


As I suggested last year, 2006/07 has indeed been a tough year involving
substantial internal changes - we are now all the stronger for it.


The improvements made to our business have been necessary to meet consumers'
ever changing requirements. We will continue to develop our portfolio; our
operating infrastructure; our route to market and our partnerships to meet
future consumer demands. The soft drinks market remains in robust health and
offers many growth opportunities. We are well positioned to benefit from these
opportunities but we must maintain a clear strategic focus. Much of our effort
in 2007/08 will be focused on delivering the improved performance associated
with our major investments in new infrastructure, assets and brands.


Roger White, Chief Executive




A.G.BARR p.l.c.

Consolidated Income statement

for the year ended 27th January, 2007


The following are the unaudited results for the year to 27th January, 2007. The
Board recommends the payment of a final dividend of 24.75p per share which if
approved by the shareholders will be posted on 7th June, 2007. The total
distribution proposed for the year amounts to 35.00p per share (2006 -31.75p)

                                                      Group
                                                2007              2006
                                                £000              £000

Revenue                                      141,876           128,760
Cost of sales                                 71,453            63,398
Gross profit                                  70,423            65,362
Net operating expenses                        52,089            48,422
Operating profit before exceptional           18,334            16,940
items

Exceptional items
Restructuring costs                            5,076               745
Gain on disposal                             (2,315)             (212)

Exceptional items                              2,761               533
Operating profit                              15,573            16,407

Finance income                                 1,158             1,557
Finance costs                                  (377)             (583)
Profit on ordinary activities                 16,354            17,381
before tax
Tax on profit on ordinary                      3,163             5,128
activities
Profit attributable to equity                 13,191            12,253
shareholders

Dividend per share paid                        32.25        p    29.25 p

Dividend paid (£'000)                          6,077             5,628

Dividend per share proposed                    24.75        p    22.00 P

Dividend proposed (£'000)                      4,817             4,282

Basic earnings per share                       69.65        p    65.06 P

Fully diluted earnings per share               68.15        p    63.87 P

Record date: 4th May, 2007

Ex-div date : 2nd May, 2007


The financial information set out in this announcement does not constitute
statutory accounts. The financial information for the year ended 28th January,
2006 is derived from the statutory accounts for that year which have been
delivered to the Registrar of Companies. The auditors have reported on those
accounts and their report was unqualified and did not contain a statement under
S237 Companies Act 1985.


Note on Tax on profit on ordinary activities

The effective rate for the year to 27th January, 2007 of 19.3% is significantly
lower than the 29.5% for the year to 28th January, 2006. This lower effective
rate in the current year has been caused by:


   • No tax payable on the gain on the disposal of the Scottish properties.
   • A prior year tax adjustment in respect of tax relief on share options
    exercised.


A.G.BARR p.l.c.

Statement of Recognised Income and Expense

for the year ended 27th January, 2007

                                                    Group                Company
                                                         Restated            Restated
                                                 2007        2006       2007     2006
                                                 £000        £000       £000     £000

Actuarial loss recognised on defined benefit    (907)     (2,235)      (907)  (2,235)
pension plans
Tax on items taken directly to equity             366         962        366      962
Net cost recognised directly in equity          (541)     (1,273)      (541)  (1,273)
Profit for the period                          13,191      12,253     13,057   11,913

Total recognised income and expense for        12,650      10,980     12,516   10,640
the period

Attributable to equity shareholders            12,650      10,980     12,516   10,640



Change in accounting policy

The restatement of the 2006 figures in the SoRIE is the result of a change in
accounting policy on deferred tax on share-based payment costs £369 (2006 -
£299). Previously no deferred tax was recognised through this statement for
these share-based payment costs. The change in policy is to bring the treatment
in line with general accounting practice.


This has had no impact on the profit declared for the year to 28th January, 2006
or the net assets reported at that date.

A.G.BARR p.l.c.

Balance sheets

As at 27th January, 2007

                                            Group                Company
                                                 Restated             Restated
                                          2007       2006      2007       2006
                                          £000       £000      £000       £000

Non-current assets
Intangible assets                        9,742          -     9,742          -
Property, plant and equipment           52,278     42,335    51,402     41,434
Investment in subsidiaries                   -          -       205        205
Deferred tax assets                        699        747       731        768
                                        62,719     43,082    62,080     42,407

Current assets
Inventories                             11,409      8,274    11,299      8,188
Trade and other receivables             25,406     22,143    24,983     21,805
Cash at bank                            19,097     31,412    18,957     31,300
Current tax                                  -          -        14          -
Assets classified as held for                -        937         -        937
sale
                                        55,912     62,766    55,253     62,230

Total assets                           118,631    105,848   117,333    104,637

Current liabilities
Trade and other payables                28,776     22,083    29,347     22,630
Provisions                               2,262          -     2,262          -
Current tax                                 59      1,962         -      1,880
                                        31,097     24,045    31,609     24,510

Non-current liabilities
Deferred income                             73        611        73        611
Retirement benefit obligations          16,084     16,248    16,084     16,248
                                        16,157     16,859    16,157     16,859

Capital and reserves
attributable to equity
shareholders
Called up share capital                  4,865      4,865     4,865      4,865
Share premium account                      905        905       905        905
Own shares held                        (4,439)    (4,298)   (4,439)    (4,298)
Share options reserve                    1,923      1,416     1,923      1,416
Retained earnings                       68,123     62,056    66,313     60,380
                                        71,377     64,944    69,567     63,268

Total equity and liabilities           118,631    105,848   117,333    104,637




A.G.BARR p.l.c.

Balance sheets

As at 27th January, 2007


Changes in accounting policy


Property, plant and equipment

The group changed its accounting policy for assets under construction to bring
the policy into line with general practice. Previously the policy was to include
assets under construction as capital work in progress included within trade and
other receivables. The cost is now included within property, plant and equipment
as assets under construction.


The impact on the balance sheets has been as follows:        Group and Company

                                                             2007     2006     2005
                                                             £000     £000     £000

Increase to property, plant and equipment                   3,090    7,403      321

Reduction in trade and other receivables                   (3,090) (7,403)    (321)


This change in policy has had no impact on the income statement.





Deferred tax

The group changed its accounting policy for deferred tax to bring the policy
into line with IAS 12. Previously deferred tax assets and liabilities had been
presented separately on the face of the balance sheet. The deferred tax assets
and liabilities are now offset when they relate to income taxes levied by the
same taxation authority and the group intends to settle its current tax assets
and liabilities on a net basis.



The impact on the balance sheets has been as follows:


                                                            Group         Company

                                                        2007    2006    2007    2006
                                                        £000    £000    £000    £000

Decrease in deferred tax asset                       (5,482)  (5,030) (5,450) (5,009)

Decrease in deferred tax liability                    5,482    5,030   5,450   5,009


This change in policy has had no impact on the income statement.




A.G.BARR p.l.c.

Cash Flow Statements

for the year ended 27th January, 2007

                                                Group             Company
                                             2007        2006       2007        2006
                                             £000        £000       £000        £000

Operating activities
Profit on ordinary activities before       16,354      17,381     16,166      16,953
tax
Adjustments for
Interest receivable                       (1,158)     (1,557)    (1,152)     (1,550)
Interest payable                              377         583        377         583
Depreciation of property, plant and         5,654       5,756      5,381       5,486
equipment
Impairment of plant                           300           -        300           -
Amortisation of intangible assets             160           -        160           -
Share options costs                           359         299        359         299
Gain on sale of property, plant and       (1,485)       (215)    (1,485)       (215)
equipment
Government grants written back              (538)         (8)      (538)         (8)
Operating cash flows before movements in   20,023      22,239     19,568      21,548
working capital

(Increase) / decrease in inventories      (1,727)         898    (1,703)         881
Increase in receivables                   (1,893)     (1,473)    (1,807)     (1,585)
Increase in payables                        6,212         255      6,236         890
Decrease in retirement benefit            (1,071)     (3,031)    (1,071)     (3,031)
obligations
Cash generated by operations               21,544      18,888     21,223      18,703

Tax on profit paid                        (4,786)     (4,876)    (4,734)     (4,856)

Net cash from operating activities         16,758      14,012     16,489      13,847

Investing activities
Acquisition of Strathmore                (15,537)           -   (15,537)           -
Proceeds on sale of property, plant         6,760         514      6,722         470
and equipment
Purchase of property, plant and          (14,501)    (12,029)   (14,216)    (11,763)
equipment
Interest received                           1,158       1,557      1,152       1,550
Interest paid                               (377)       (583)      (377)       (583)
Net cash used in investing activities    (22,497)    (10,541)   (22,256)    (10,326)

Financing activities
Purchase of own shares                    (1,052)     (3,149)    (1,052)     (3,149)
Sale of own shares                            553       1,760        553       1,760
Dividends paid                            (6,077)     (5,628)    (6,077)     (5,628)
Net cash used in financing activities     (6,576)     (7,017)    (6,576)     (7,017)

Net decrease in cash and cash            (12,315)     (3,546)   (12,343)     (3,496)
equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at               31,412      34,958     31,300      34,796
beginning of year

Cash and cash equivalents at end of        19,097      31,412     18,957      31,300
year




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange