Pernod Ricard shifted 500,000 nine-litre cases of Glenlivet in 2006, helping the company post a forecast-beating half-year sales rise that sent the French company's shares to a record high.
Christian Porta, Chivas Brothers chief executive, said the brand thereby became only the second single malt to reach that target in a single calendar year, following in the footsteps of global best-seller Glenfiddich, owned by Scotland's William Grant.
Glenlivet sales climbed 14% on 2005, said Porta, aided by rapid growth in Asian markets.
"We have been working hard to build the brand in Asia. Countries such as Taiwan and Japan are very dynamic markets at present for single malt Scotch whisky," he said.
The maker of trademark aniseed drinks and other global brands, including Chivas Regal whisky and Mumm champagne, said yesterday it now expects full-year revenues to June 30, 2007 to grow more than 6%, compared with a previous forecast of 4% to 6%. The adjustment follows a 7.3% rise in first-half revenues, to 3.5bn, powered by strong growth in Asia and the Americas. The company said the figure was improved by one-off factors relating to its takeover of the UK's Allied Domecq in July 2005, such as the de-stocking of Allied brands later that year.
Pernod's major rival, Diageo, is predicting a similar 6% rise in underlying sales for the year to the end of June.
Managing director Pierre Pringuet said Pernod is interested in buying Swedish state-owned vodka Absolut when it comes up for sale, adding that talks on acquiring the Stolichnaya brands outside Russia continue. Absolut is the world's second-best selling vodka after Diageo's Smirnoff.
Pringuet said the company is focusing on premium whiskies and wines which sell at a higher margin. Sales of the company's 15 key brands, which also include Beefeater gin, and Chivas Regal and Ballantine's whiskies, climbed 9% in the half-year to December 31, but in value terms grew 14%. This came despite a 1.1% fall in wine sales, which the company blamed on a sluggish UK market for Jacob's Creek Australian wine. Jacob's Creek has encountered tough competition in the £4 to £5-a-bottle bracket.
Pernod's underlying sales in the second quarter rose 12.4% overall, well ahead of even the most optimistic forecasts.
Of the company's whisky brands, underlying sales of Chivas Regal climbed by a relatively modest 3% but growth was held back by difficult markets in Italy and Spain.
Sales of Ballantine's soared 29%, however, with strong demand for premium brands in Asia. Ballantine's 21-year-old and 30-year-old grew 47% and 48% respectively, compared with a more modest 26% for the standard 12-year-old, Ballantine's finest.
By region, Pernod's underlying first-half sales grew 14% in the Americas, excluding bulk spirits sales, to 984m. In Europe, the rise was a more modest 6.6%, to 1.175m, and in Asia/rest of the world sales increased by 12.1%, to 980m.
Pernod said the effect of rising interest rates in the US and Europe was a consequent increase from 4.5% to 5% in the cost of servicing the company's debt, which would be offset by bullish growth prospects.
The Paris-based company's shares closed up 6.1% at 158.
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