(Reuters) - Nichols Plc (L:NICL), the London-listed maker of Vimto soft drinks, warned on Wednesday that its home UK market would remain challenging this year, "with the addition of currency-related input cost inflation to an already price-competitive environment".
However, the company said in a statement ahead of its annual general meeting of shareholders that first-quarter trading had been in line with management expectations, with UK sales up by 3.4 percent, and it still expected full-year earnings "to be in line with market expectations."
The company sells drinks in the still and carbonated categories worth over 100 million pounds a year in over 85 countries.