HUNTER Laing, the Scotch whisky blender and bottler, has seen profits more than double in its second year of trading on the back of surging sales.

The Glasgow-based company, established following the demerger of Douglas Laing & Co in 2013, booked pre-tax profits of £1.4 million in the year ended April 30.

The results exceeded the upper limits of management expectations.

Earnings rose as the firm, headed by whisky trade veteran Stewart Laing and sons Andrew and Scott, won new customers and opened new international markets.

Turnover increased to £6.4m from £4.3m, according to accounts disclosed to The Herald shortly before being filed at Companies House.

Stewart Laing, who ran Douglas Laing with his brother Fred before that business was split to ease family succession issues two years ago, said the year had exceeded even the firm’s most ambitious expectations.

Mr Laing said: “I don’t think we could have legitimately anticipated such an increase in profits. But we would certainly have anticipated an increase in profit because of new customers, new markets, and also because last year was the first year.

He added: “Our products are meeting the expectations of a number of our importers; their sales are up.

“We’re pleased with where we are; we’re not sitting back, nevertheless, thinking this is great. It is a step in the right direction.”

The growth in turnover and profits came as Hunter Laing, which exports its brands to more than 60 countries, won new customers in the key Scotch export market of Taiwan.

And it reported “very encouraging” progress in territories such as Japan, Mexico, the US and France, where it is now working with a new importer.

The European markets of Germany and Italy proved to be fruitful, while the company is poised to begin selling whisky into the traditionally “difficult” market of Venezuela.

“We’re looking forward to actually moving into some additional South American countries, and plans are well ahead on that,” said Mr Laing. “It has taken about six months to get the necessary documentation done for these countries – they are very difficult. But we’re almost there.”

Mr Laing reported that the firm had not seen any material impact from global events such as the situation in China, where major distillers such as Diageo and Pernod Ricard have seen slow on the back of anti-austerity measures and economic slowdown. But he admitted that Hunter Laing, whose brands include single malt range Old Malt Cask and the Old & Rare single cask collection, had seen trade slow considerably in Russia and the Ukraine in light of political tension between the countries.

“Sometimes you just come up against brick walls,” he said. “You have to be realistic and say our efforts are better spent in other parts of the world.”

The accounts show that Hunter Laing increased its investment in stock by £1.8m over the period, raising the value of stock held – “the lifeblood of the company” – to £4.8m.

Mr Laing noted that supplies from distilleries around Scotland have “eased” after coming under intense pressure due to soaring worldwide demand.

The company, which continues to assess the market for opportunities to acquire its own distillery, expects to open a new maturation warehouse in Stroud Road, East Kilbride, in the coming year. It will be used to hold its own stock and those for third parties.

Hunter Laing acquired the building, which is close to its existing warehouse and bottling hall in the town’s Carron Place, early last year in a deal backed by Clydesdale Bank.

Alongside that, it is close to securing a deal to acquire the property next to the Carron Place premises, paving the way to expand its existing space by around one-third.

It is expected that the investment will allow it to “effectively double” its bottling capacity and improve the efficiency of the operation more generally.

Between the two projects, the total investment is expected to total around £1m.

The business is continuing to develop new products. The period saw a first full-year for the Author Series, a range of single malt bottlings highlighting famous literary figures and sold exclusively in The Whisky Shop chain in the UK.

And next month it will make its first foray into rum when it launches Kill Devil, a range of aged, single cask rums. The spirit has been imported from rum-producing regions such as the Caribbean and Nicaragua.

Kill Devil will be promoted under the Edition Spirits imprint, the vehicle established by Andrew and Scott Laing. Scott Laing said the range will be pitched at younger drinkers than the typical Hunter Laing demographic. Sales will initially focus on the US and Europe.