Glenmorangie in good spirits with profits of pound(s)12.7m
0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Jul 29, 2010 | by SIMON BAIN
THE slimmed-down Glenmorangie whisky company has said it is on track to move to a new headquarters in Edinburgh and complete its pound(s)9m bottling plant in Livingston in the current quarter.
Accounts filed at Com-panies House show that the distiller, owned by French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, made an operating profit of pound(s)14m on turnover of pound(s)65m in its continuing core business – the development of its two international single malt whisky brands Glenmorangie and Ardbeg.
Two years ago the group said it was exiting blended whisky and third-party bottling, and a year ago reported a pound(s)32.5m operating profit for 2008 and a pound(s)39.3m pre-tax profit, which included the disposal of its former facility at Broxburn and the Glen Moray distillery at Elgin.
Reporting a pre-tax profit of pound(s)12.7m for 2009, the group says the 2008 figure included discontinued operations and also “a high level of sales of bulk whisky stocks no longer required” for the blended whisky business.
Glenmorangie also relinquished to Morrison Bowmore a major contract for the production and bottling of Drambuie last year.
However last year’s figures compare favourably with 2007, when turnover was pound(s)84m and pre-tax profit only pound(s)10.6m.
The directors say: “Our vision was, and remains, to build the brand presence of our highly successful premium single malt whisky brands in order to capitalise on market growth in key international markets and deliver sustainable long-term benefits to the group.”
An expansion project at the flagship Glenmorangie distillery in Tain, Ross-shire, was completed during the year as were enhancements to the Ardbeg distillery on Islay.
The year also saw the launch of several new sub-brands such as Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX, Ardbeg Supernova and Ardbeg Corryvreckan.
“During the year the group supported these product innovations with increased brand and marketing investment in its key markets. This strategy is already delivering very positive results,” the directors added.
Glenmorangie has recently become the fastest-growing single malt in the US and is gaining share in key Asian and European markets.
Employment dropped from 380 to 294, reflecting the restructuring.
The directors say they are “very encouraged by the results received to date” from the new strategy.