Glenmorangie Profits Soar

[John]

The Glenmorangie Company, which distils the iconic Glenmorangie single malt whisky at Tain, saw its profits soar almost fourfold in 2008.

Its annual report and accounts for the year, just released by Companies House, show that the company achieved pre-tax profits of £39.33million - up from £10.58million the previous year - largely thanks to rapidly growing demand for its flagship Glenmorangie and Ardbeg brands.

The accounts also show that £8.82million of the profit was attributable to gains on the sale of its Glen Moray distillery at Elgin, the Glen Moray brand and associated whisky stocks and also from the sale of its 33-acre Broxburn bottling site to drink giant Diageo.

Turnover was sharply higher at £112.58million, up from £83.83million in 2007.

The company's sales are principally in the UK, which in 2008 accounted for £72.58million of its turnover, and the rest of Europe, where it gained £21.87million of sales; both markets up strongly on the year before.

Other principal markets include Asia, where it has been growing fast and sales have overtaken those in the Americas, and Africa and the Middle East, where sales declined in 2008 from the previous year. A smaller market but also growing is Australasia.

The directors said in their report that, as revealed earlier, the company began a two-year investment programme last year to refocus its business on growing its two successful single-malt brands, Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, the latter distilled in Islay. At the same time, it said it was exiting its blended whisky bottling and sales business, represented by Glen Moray.

The directors said the investment programme - announced earlier as worth £45million - will see relocation of its HQ to Edinburgh and construction of a new £15million bottling plant at Livingston, although it is continuing to use the Broxburn operation until the new site becomes available in the middle of next year.

The directors added that during 2008 the company incurred capital expenditure of £9.1million, including £4.8million on expanding production capacity at Tain.

A further £2million was spent on casks.

The accounts also show that the company's unnamed highest-paid director, likely to be chief executive Paul Neep, received a basic salary of £309,000, performance-related pay of £147,000 and benefits of £29,000 for a total package worth £485,000.

In 2007 he received a package worth £435,000.

Burn Stewart Distillers won two gold medals at the International Spirits Challenge 2009 for Bunnahabhain 25-year-old single malt and Black Bottle.

John

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