UK: Isle of Arran Distillers toasts record FY profits, sales

• FY profits rise 39% to GBP348,514 (US$518,900)
• Sales up by 18% to GBP3.6m
• Operating profits up by 40%  to GBP432,946
• Exports up 20% year-on-year 

Isle of Arran Distillers has posted record highs in FY sales and profits as it hailed 2012 as its most successful year.

Net profits rose by 39% to GBP348,514 (US$518,900) in the year to the end of December, the Scotch whisky producer said today (10 July). Net sales rose by 18% to GBP3.6m over the same period while operating profits jumped by 40% to GBP432,946.

A strong export performance helped drive growth, with sales outside the UK up by 20% year-on-year compared to a 1% increase for the overall Scotch market, said Isle of Arran, which produces The Arran Malt.

Sales in the US doubled compared to 2011 and Denmark also saw “a sharp increase”, the company said. Meanwhile, Russia “bounced back strongly from import restrictions in 2010 and 2011 and looks set to become one of our most important markets”, it said.

“We are developing a portfolio of products to match any distillery which is reflected by the growing interest for The Arran Malt around the world,” Isle of Arran MD Euan Mitchell said. “We are in the ideal place to benefit from the increasing global awareness and taste for premium Scotch malt whisky.”

Brand sales exceeded GBP2m for the first time in the company's 18-year history, “attributed largely to the soaring demand for high-margin limited editions of The Arran Malt”, it said.

In June last year, the company released the Devil's Punch Bowl - a limited-edition single malt from The Arran Malt portfolio - which became its fastest-selling bottle.