SPIRITS group Edrington, whose brands include The Famous Grouse and The Macallan, has reported a drop in pre-tax profits, after a £239 million writedown for its Brugal rum brand.
The Glasgow-based firm said profits fell 9.4 per cent to £157.6m in the year to March, and cited “tough economic and competitive conditions” in the key markets of Spain and the Dominican Republic for the writedown. However, it recorded growth across its brand portfolio in the US.
Last year Edrington launched its own sales, marketing and distribution firms in the Middle East, US and South-East Asia, which it said helped its brands to continue expanding in important premium spirits markets.
The Macallan alone saw turnover grow 10.5 per cent, and Edrington said the whisky now occupied market-leading positions in Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, and the number two position in the US.
The group’s Highland Park whisky also performed strongly in the US, while The Famous Grouse increased volume and market share in the UK and grew in several emerging markets, including Turkey, Russia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Snow Leopard vodka showed “positive volume growth”, but Brugal rum encountered “tough economic and competitive conditions” in the key markets of Spain and the Dominican Republic, losing volume year-on-year.
Edrington chief executive Ian Curle said: “Edrington enjoyed a good year in which we saw the benefits of controlling our distribution in the key spirits markets of the US and South East Asia and continued strong demand for our premium spirits.
“Our whisky portfolio performed ahead of the market and this shows the strength of our brands, which are well placed to benefit further from continuing trends towards premium spirits. Edrington’s focus in the coming years will be on this increasingly important premium end of the market.
“Our strategy of investing for the long-term is evidenced by our expansion in the travel retail market and the on-going work to transform The Macallan estate, where work on the new distillery and visitor centre remains on track for completion in spring 2017.”
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