Whyte & Mackay, the alcoholic beverage group, has surged back into the black in the wake of its acquisition 18 months ago by flamboyant billionaire Indian drinks tycoon Vijay Mallya.
Whyte & Mackay, the alcoholic beverage group, has surged back into the black in the wake of its acquisition 18 months ago by flamboyant billionaire Indian drinks tycoon Vijay Mallya.
The Glasgow-headquartered Scotch whisky distiller, whose brands also include Vladivar vodka and Glayva liqueur, as well as the eponymous Scotch and Dalmore and Jura malts, posted pre-tax profits of £25.6m for the year-and-a-half to the end of March, on a turnover of £348.1m.
The latest figures reveal a dizzying turnaround from the company's previously reported accounts, in which it racked up a second successive period of losses in the year before it was sold to Mallya's United Breweries, as the costs of servicing its huge debts and restructuring weighed on trading.
Nonetheless, the Kingfisher beer owner splashed out £595m for the company after a protracted courtship in the belief that the potential for premium Scotch whisky in India remains "enormous".
Prior to the sale, the company made a pre-tax loss of £2.2m in the year to the end of September, 2006, on top of the £3.4m it lost in the preceding year.
The latest accounting period marked considerable change at the group. A spokesman for Whyte & Mackay said: "All sectors of the business are growing following the takeover."
The directors also noted in the accounts that the company had booked an exceptional charge of £30.3m related "mainly to a comprehensive change programme intended to reposition the group for future earnings growth, combined with bonus related payments arising from the acquisition of the group, and an exceptional transaction in respect to the acceleration of a long-term supply contract".
The buy-out had allowed South African financier Vivian Imerman and tycoon Robert Tchenguiz, who were part of a group of investors which paid £208m for Whyte & Mackay in 2001, to pocket massive gains.
Meanwhile, the directors added: "The group's overriding objective is to become an international spirits supplier with recognisable and well-know brands delivering sustainable rates of growth and returns."
Mallya, who is known for his Bollywood-esque dress sense and is the founder and chairman of India's fast-growing Kingfisher Airlines, announced a major spending programme after the takeover, saying he planned to invest around £10m through his United Spirits business to lift the capacity of the Invergordon plant in Easter Ross from 40 million litres to 80 million litres of alcohol a year.
Mallya said he would also look at driving capacity in Whyte & Mackay's malt distilleries, which include Isle of Jura and Dalmore in Easter Ross.
The tycoon, who made his move on Whyte & Mackay at a time when the explosive growth of the economies of India and China has encouraged expectations that there will be huge growth in demand for imported whisky in those countries, previously said the company would not be in a position to achieve its potential until the radical restructuring was completed.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Diageo is understood to have held talks with Mallya over buying a stake in his United Spirits business in India.
India last year reduced its tariffs on imported spirits and it is expected that Scotch exports to India will increase as imported Scotch becomes more affordable.
Scotland's whisky industry set new records for exports in 2007, earning £90 every second for Britain's balance of trade, the Scotch Whisky Association announced earlier this year.
Shipments of blended whiskies increased by 15% to £2.2bn and the value of bottled malt whiskies rose by 11% to £454m.
