Whisky giant sees profits slide

Published on Tuesday 27 July 2010 21:46

PROFITS at Glenmorangie plummeted by 68 per cent in 2009 after the distiller continued to restructure its business following the disposal of its blended whisky arm.

• Glenmorangie profits fell by 68%. Picture: Phil Wilkinson

Accounts filed at Companies House showed that turnover at the firm - which is owned by French luxury goods giant Louis Vuitton Mot Hennessy - fell from 112.6 million in 2008 to 64.9m following the sale of the Glen Moray distillery and head office at Broxburn, West Lothian.

Pre-tax profit slumped from 39.3m to 12.7m, with the firm spending 9m on capital expenditure, building a bottling plant in Livingston and upgrading facilities at its Glenmorangie distillery, near Tain, and Ardbeg, on Islay.

Diageo bought the company's former head office at Broxburn, while the Glen Moray distillery, in Elgin, was sold to spirits group La Martiniquaise.

Glenmorangie confirmed it is on course to move into its new base at the Cube office development on Edinburgh's Leith Street during the autumn.

Writing in the directors' report, company secretary Martha Fleming said she was "very encouraged" by the results of the switch to focus on malts, which was already "bearing fruit".

She said: "Set against a tough economic backdrop and challenging trading conditions that affected the Scotch whisky industry in 2009, our branded Glenmorangie and Ardbeg businesses performed well."