Jameson the toast of drinks giant

A €40 million Jameson Irish whiskey advertising and marketing spend is helping to maintain the brand - associated with both Dublin and Cork - as one of the fastest growing whiskies in the world.

Jameson’s continuing success has fuelled speculation, however, that the company might be forced to expand production at its Midleton, Co Cork distillery or even move to a new location to keep up with growing demand.

Last night, Irish Distillers denied such rumours.

“With the growth of Jameson it is natural there will be an increase in output,” said a company spokesman.

“The company has already responded by increasing warehousing capacity at Midleton (and) will continue to review its requirements,” he added.

Irish Distillers, which is owned by Pernod Ricard, is understood to have improved turnover and sales in the first half of the current financial year - aided by Jameson’s continuing growth worldwide.

The whiskey’s international performance has been particularly impressive with sales of Jameson abroad growing at the rate of 12% per year.

The whiskey is already a major seller in Europe, the US, South Africa, and in Russia. Irish Distillers expects to sell two million cases of Jameson this year.

Pernod Ricard’s first-half results, announced yesterday, show strong growth, meanwhile, in both sales and profits.

Operating profits at the company surged 70% to €767m, while net profits of €471m were recorded. Earnings per share rose 26%, to €5.34, while total sales, excluding taxes, rose 67% to €3.26bn.

Pernod Ricard has attributed these solid figures to the dynamism of the company’s original premium brands and to its rapid and successful integration of food and drinks player, Allied Domecq.

Growth among Pernod Ricard’s original brands included Chivas 13%, Jameson 12 %, The Glenlivet 10 %, and Martell 9 %.

Strong profitability in the brands generated a sharp rise in company’s the gross margin, up from 60.1 % to 61.3 % - with the group maintaining sustained advertising and promotion behind all its key brands.

During the year, Pernod Ricard sold Dunkin Brands - including Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins icecream and US sandwich retailer Togo’s - and Glen Grant for €1.5bn, which resulted in a significant reduction in debt within the group to €8.5bn.

The outlook for the year is positive with earnings growth of up to 15% on the cards, according to chairman, Patrick Ricard.