Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard reports results for FY ending 30 June 2015
Jameson achieves volume growth of +8.5% and value growth of +10.2%
Print31 August 2015
Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard has reported strong results for the financial year 2014/2015, spurred on by the acceleration of the global development of Jameson Irish Whiskey and the Single Pot Still range.
The number one Irish whiskey in the world, Jameson volume growth was +8.5% for the year, while value growth was up +10.2%. Achieving consistent value growth ahead of volume remains a key objective for Jameson, the brand states.
In fact, of the 130+ markets in which Jameson is sold around the world, 53 achieved double to triple digit growth in the latest financial year.
Irish Distillers has recently invested more than €200m, doubling production capacity in its Midleton Distillery in Cork and Fox & Geese bottling facility in Dublin. It is anticipated that capacity will have to be doubled again in the coming years to meet global demand for the company’s products.
Spirits market in Ireland
For the 12 months ending June 2015, the total spirits market in Ireland declined by 3.2%, driven by a 5.2% decline in the off-trade. For the first time in a number of years, spirits sold in the on-trade increased by 1.4%, following a massive 6% decline last year. This small growth is largely driven by a strong tourist trade. However, spirits in Ireland continue to be subject to the third highest excise duties in Europe following 44% increase in excise rates on spirits since 2013.
New products launched this year includes Jameson Caskmates, a collaboration between Irish Distillers and Franciscan Well Brewery in Cork. Caskmates is Jameson Irish whiskey that has been finished in barrels used by Franciscan Well to finish its craft Irish stout. Jameson Caskmates sold 3,000 bottles in its pilot year in Ireland and will launch across ten markets in 2015, with volumes expected to reach 85k cases by the end of year one.
Midleton Dair Ghaelach is the result of a six year sustainability project by Irish Distillers. The whiskey was matured primarily in American Oak bourbon barrels and for the first time finished in virgin native Irish Oak Hogshead casks, harvested from Ballaghtobin Estate, Co Kilkenny for Irish Distillers. Each bottle in the series can be traced back to an individual tree in the Irish estate that the wood was procured from, and five trees were planted for every tree felled to make the Irish oak casks. Future releases will come from different sustainable Irish oak forests across Ireland.
Commenting on the company’s performance, Anna Malmhake, Chairman and CEO said: “In stark contrast to [the] growth and optimism for our export markets, the outlook for our industry here in Ireland is extremely concerning. The penal excise increases on alcohol accumulated since 2013 endanger the export success of indigenous products such as Irish whiskey as well as the 92,000 jobs being supported by the drinks industry in every county throughout Ireland.
“In fact Ireland is one of the most expensive places in the world to buy Irish whiskey. A tourist visiting from New York has to pay almost €15 more when purchasing a bottle in Ireland than in New York (Jameson 1000ml RRP: Ireland – €41.68, USA – €27, Germany – €25.10).”
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