Remy hails Bruichladdich impact

The Paris-based company acquired Bruichladdich for £58 million in its first major foray into the whisky industry in 2012.

Ms Chapouland-Floquet underlined the importance of the Islay distillery as Remy served up underlying operating profits of €156 million for the year ended March 31.

This was up 3.9 per cent on a published basis and, stripping out factors such as foreign currency exchange, 13.5 per cent ahead on in organic terms.

Sales of Bruichladdich brands, including its single malts and The Botanist gin, doubled over the period, boosted by the reach of the Remy Cointreau global distribution network.

And they were said to have contributed significantly to the company's strategy of taking its liqueurs and spirits division upmarket and sell more its brands above at $50 per bottle or higher.

Remy did not break down Bruichladdich's financial performance for the year. But the most recent accounts for the distillery at Companies House show that it turned over £11.1m the year before.

Ms Chapouland-Floquet said: "As you can see we practically doubled our activity in Bruichladdich and The Botanist which joined us three years ago come September.

"As you can see the whisky market remains a very good market for us, a very dynamic market especially for single malt whisky."

She added: "The volume mix effect has been very favourable, with a new mix thanks to the new arrivals, particularly Bruichladdich and The Botanist."

Remy said organic sales grew modestly by 0.6 per cent to €965.1m in the period. A strong showing in the US and positive trends in Europe were offset by continuing destocking efforts in China, which hampered its performance in Asia the first half of the year.

Excluding Greater China, the company said organic sales had grown by three per cent, Ms Chapouland-Floquet noted in a results call.

Remy has been among premium spirit producers have faced in China since the introduction of austerity measures in 2013, which have clamped down on the gift giving culture and public shows of extravagance.

Cognac division Remy Martin, the biggest part of the group, saw sales drop by 1.9 per cent and operating profit by 2.1 per cent to €117.4m, reflecting ongoing efforts to destock in Asia.

However Remy Martin had a year of high growth in the US, which is now the biggest market for its eponymous Cognac brand.

Ms Chapouland-Floquet, a luxury goods specialist, noted that the company was not seeing demand pick up significantly in China, and signalled it was taking steps to reduce its dependency on the market.

She said: "Destocking in China in the first half generated a negative mix. China is becoming a less important to our sales - we are striking a new geographical sales balance."

Remy's liqueurs and spirits arm had experienced sustained growth in the year, with operating profit rising by 35.4 per cent to €50.2m. The division had seen almost "double digit" percentage growth across North America, including "excellent growth in the US".

Cointreau benefited from "sustained growth" in the US, the group said, driven by a strong showing from the speciality spirit in the on-trade channel.

Ms Chapouland-Floquet said the group's success in putting through price rises and "moving the portfolio upmarket" had driven the increase in operating profits in the US.

Elsewhere in liqueurs and spirits, geopolitical factors affected Metaxa in the second half of the year, however the Greek liqueur experienced double digit percentage growth in Germany and central Europe. Remy also highlighted a solid performance by Mount Gay, notably in the US - the world's biggest market for rum.

Separately, William Grant & Sons has appointed Philip Gladman as chief marketing officer.

Mr Gladman has joined from Flintock, a consulting business he established last year, but before that spent 14 years in a variety of roles with Diageo. He has joined the executive board at William Grant, reporting to chief executive Stella David, and takes responsibility for the company's global travel retail business.