The Irish-based business that operates owns drinks brands including Bulmers, Magners and Tennent’s and also operates drinks and wine distributor Matthew Clark Bibendum, said the fall in revenue reflected, in part, the planned exit of Budweiser Brewing Group contractual volume in the Republic of Ireland, alongside challenging hospitality market conditions impacting its distribution business.
C&C Group said net revenue dropped to €1.57bn from €1.67bn in FY2025 and profit before tax dropped by 6.1% from €55.9m to €49.8m in its results for the year ended 28 February 2026.
It added while adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation) has fallen from €112.0m to €104.3m, this “demonstrated continued underlying profitability notwithstanding lower revenues during the year” and operating profit before exceptional items was €70.5m (€77.1m: 2025).
Boost from new products
However, there was net revenue growth in its core brands Bulmers & Tennent’s with further progress across its premium brands and the launch of new branded products, such as Tennent’s Bavarian Pilsner.
Other highlights included “tangible progress against all key strategic priorities, exiting the year with a focus on simplification, strengthened execution capability, a more stable platform for growth and a refreshed executive team”.
It also said there had been significant simplification activity across the business, including corporate restructuring and logistics optimisation.
The business said it plans to move away from its previous ‘One C&C’ strategy and head towards two distinct operating models in the group: C&C Brands and Matthew Clark Bibendum.
Demonstrable progress
C&C Group CEO Roger White said: “We have made demonstrable progress in multiple areas across the group in the past 12 months and now have a more stable operating platform from which to build.
“Having established the best route forward for C&C Group to create value and having done much of the preliminary enabling work required, we now look forward with a renewed focus and drive to deliver the necessary change and improvements we have identified to support our value creation ambitions.
“We will continue to develop the growing C&C brands portfolio, with our brand innovation pipeline now firmly established. We anticipate a series of exciting brand initiatives and a strong promotional programme across the key summer months.”
Trading performance since the period end has been in line with expectations, the business stated and added: “The important summer months trading period lies ahead and the macro environment remains unstable meaning forecasting consumer behaviour and demand is challenging for all.
“Notwithstanding this uncertainty, the group has strong plans in place across the business and we currently expect to meet full-year financial objectives, alongside delivering substantial progress in the development and delivery of our refreshed strategic framework.”
