Record profits for Distillers William Grant & Sons

Simon Hunt

Independent family distillers, William Grant & Sons  has revealed record profits (after tax) of  £147.4m, an increase of 8.9% year on year, driven say the company by  “strong volume and value growth across its core portfolio of premium spirit brands.”

The Group continued to focus on its core portfolio and saw particularly strong value growth from Glenfiddich. Its volume growth increased 5% year on year.  Hendrick’s gin continued to grow rapidly across the world and Monkey Shoulder became the Company’s 8th core brand.

The company also reduced its dependence of  third party agency brands. This strategic shift resulted in reported turnover increasing from £832.7m to £882.5m, an increase of 6.1%.

 

Simon Hunt, William Grant & Sons Chief Executive, said,  “This success was driven by our constant focus on building brands and investing in them for the long term. We have also continued to invest in our operational capabilities and our route to market infrastructure. It has been a challenging market place but we are well positioned to continue our growth in 2016 and beyond.”

Record profit was delivered despite challenging conditions in terms of increased volatility across Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the adverse impact of foreign exchange and increased competition. However, demand for super premium spirits, particularly in the USA and Asia remained robust where the markets remained buoyant.

William Grant & Sons http://www.williamgrant.com was again awarded the highly prestigious Scotch Whisky Producer of the Year trophy at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) and was lauded for “continuing to prove itself a leader in the Scotch category.”

 

The company also reported that the 2015 financial statements have, for the first time, been prepared using the new UK Accounting Standard FRS102.  The 2014 comparative figures contained in the 2015 financial statements have been recalculated using FRS102 and are therefore different from the figures presented in the 2014 financial statements. The reported turnover and profit of £933.2m and £139.8m respectively, as shown in the 2014 financial statements, were therefore recalculated to £832.7m and £135.3m respectively to comply with this new standard

 

 

Category: News
Tags: glenfiddich, Hendrick's, Monkey Shoulder, Simon Hunt, Whisky, William Grant & Sons