SCOTCH whisky producer Inver House Distillers has reported a doubling of annual profits following a "significant" investment in its marketing activities.
The Airdrie-based producer, which operates five distilleries, said pre-tax profits for 2007 had soared to £3.8 million in 2007 – 107 per cent up on the previous year.
A booming Scotch market, combined with a growing global awareness of In
ver House brands such as Old Pulteney, Balblair and Speyburn, pushed turnover to £57.8m from £38m in 2006.
Managing director Graham Stevenson said the firm had upped its marketing spend to "hundreds of thousands of pounds" over the past three years, through sponsorship deals and boosting Old Pulteney's image as a maritime blend.
Stevenson told The Scotsman: "We are delighted with 2007's results, but we have had a good, strong last couple of years. In 2005 and 2006 we increased our investment into marketing, which is bearing fruit now."
The privately-owned group said that while it was disappointed at the UK government's decision to increase tax on whisky by 59p on a bottle, it did not believe the move would have a major impact on next year's figures.
"Obviously, we are disappointed," Stevenson said. "One of the main problems is the damaging precedent that it sets for export markets. However, the effect on single malts in the premium markets, like our brands, should not be too significant."
He said he expected the current growth in demand for whisky, driven by emerging markets in China and India, to continue.
Inver House said its flagship single malt, Old Pulteney, performed particularly well, boasting a 24 per cent increase in UK sales over the past 12 months.
The brand, which was launched by Inver House in 1997, has its roots in a historic distillery in the coastal town of Wick and is on track to become one of the UK's top-selling single malt brands by 2009.
Stevenson added: "We are pushing Old Pulteney's maritime roots and have launched promotions and so on accordingly."
The company formed partnerships with five high-profile sailing events around the UK, and also sponsored round-the-world yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, pushing volume sales "significantly" higher over the period.
The brand, which has also grown internationally to become Sweden's best-selling single malt, scooped a national distribution agreement with Tesco and has also won an account with pub chain JD Wetherspoon.
• Edrington Group, producer of Famous Grouse and The Macallan, has announced that Trina Glen will join its main board next month.
Glen, who has most recently led the commercial team's push into Asia and America, will become group strategy director.
The full article contains 447 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
