INVER House Distillers has reported a 28% rise in turnover helped by soaring international sales of whisky.
The Airdrie based company operates five distilleries –Pulteney, Balblair, Knockdhu, Speyburn and Balmenach – plus a bottling and warehousing site.
It produces top malt whiskies such as Old Pulteney and Speyburn and a Scottish gin called Caorunn as well as vodka and liqueurs. Figures for 2011 show it saw turnover rise from £62.9 million to £80.6m, while there was a 61% increase in pre-tax profit from £9.61m to £15.46m.
Profits were boosted by one- off gains from disposal of assets and the settling of an insurance claim, involving snow-damaged roofs at some of the distilleries, which totalled £1.57m.
Managing director Graham Stevenson said: "It has been growth pretty much across the portfolio although Old Pulteney is doing particularly well.
"Despite the difficult economic conditions, the whisky industry continues to go from strength to strength, driven by emerging markets and also by the commitment to maintaining the high quality image of the category.
"We are no exception and the 2011 financial performance of Inver House Distillers represents our continued investment in an award-winning product portfolio, with brands that are highly competitive across the spirit category and sold in over 85 markets around the world. Eastern Europe is an area we find exciting. We do a lot of business through our parent company in Thailand and surrounding countries as well."
Inver House, which employs 181 people and is a subsidiary of drinks giant International Beverage Holdings, declined to give exact volumes but said it had seen an increase of 28% across its key brands since 2010.
Old Pulteney single malt sales increased 12% which meant it reached the top 10 in the UK Balblair grew by 13%.
Speyburn was up 10% with the United States of America, where it is the number five selling malt, being its key market.
AnCnoc was reported to have seen 13% growth while the Hankey Bannister blend saw its sales value increase 53% helped by strong performance in Eastern Europe, southern Africa and South America.
Mr Stevenson is confident the company has enough current and maturing stock to meet the growing demand from abroad.
He said: "There is no question the situation in the industry is tighter than it was, which is benefiting everybody, but at the moment we have sufficient stocks for our growth projections."
Caorunn Gin, launched in 2009, saw its sales increase 312% to become number three in the UK premium gin category.
Inver House said the brand is now rolled out in the US backed by significant investment.
Mr Stevenson added: "Super premium gins have largely been developed by Hendricks in previous years but we felt it was an interesting opportunity and launched Caorunn.
"So far so good and it has just gone on sale in the US in New York and Los Angeles. There is a group company in the States so over time they will do their best to roll it out nationwide."
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