Edrington Group sees profits fall after writedown

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The spirits group behind The Famous Grouse and The Macallan has reported a sharp fall in pre-tax profits, after a £239m writedown for its Brugal rum brand.

Edrington Group said profits fell 9.4% to £157.6m in the year to March.

The Glasgow-based firm cited "tough economic and competitive conditions" in the key markets of Spain and The Dominican Republic for the writedown.

Turnover also slipped by 2.4% to £617.1m.

However, it recorded growth across its brand portfolio in the US.

Last year it launched its own sales, marketing and distribution firms in the Middle East, US and South East Asia.

The group said the move had helped its brands to continue expanding in important premium spirits markets.

The Macallan performed strongly during the year, with turnover growing by 10.5%. Edrington said the whisky brand now occupied market-leading positions in Russia, China, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong and the number two position in the US.

Its Highland Park whisky performed strongly in the US, while The Famous Grouse increased its volume and market share in the UK and grew in several emerging markets, including Turkey, Russia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Cutty Sark grew volume and market share in its largest market, Spain, while Snow Leopard vodka showed "positive volume growth".

Chief executive Ian Curle said: "Edrington enjoyed a good year in which we saw the benefits of controlling our distribution in the key spirits markets of the US and South East Asia and continued strong demand for our premium spirits.

"Our whisky portfolio performed ahead of the market and this shows the strength of our brands, which are well placed to benefit further from continuing trends towards premium spirits."