Low-cal drinks fuel Cadbury growth

FRESH signs that waistlines are driving the size of a company's bottom line emerged today, as Cadbury Schweppes revealed it was benefiting from a boom in 'diet' fizzy drinks.

A day after brewer SABMiller said its low-carb Miller Lite beer had helped lift full-year profits, Cadbury's revealed sales of Diet Dr Pepper, Diet 7Up and flavoured soda Diet Rite, are 25% higher in the US.

The growth in such low-calorie drinks has put Cadbury on track to hit the first key milestone in chief executive Todd Stitzer's Fuel for Growth restructuring, with first-half results set to show group sales up by between 3% and 5%.

In a trading statement ahead of the group's forthcoming interim figures, it added that margins over the six-month period should be 'modestly higher' than a year ago.

'The improvement in performance seen in the fourth quarter of 2003 has continued into 2004,' it said.

Shares in the Dairy Milk giant, which boasts billionaire Warren Buffett as an investor, rose 9p to 452p. Stitzer launched Fuel for Growth in October.

Under his plans, the group is shedding 5,500 jobs, 10% of its workforce, and pouring money behind its key brands.