A MAJOR rise in sales of Scottish gin helped Inver House Distillers hold turnover steady amid tough trading conditions during its most recent financial year.

The Airdrie-based company, which makes the Old Pulteney, Speyburn, Balblair and anCnoc single malts, saw sales of its Caorunn brand rise by 34 per cent in value in the year ended September 30.

Its growth was credited by Inver House, owned ultimately by Thai-based International Beverage Holdings, to a long-term investment plan for the brand, which saw sales rise by 47% in the UK and 46% in duty free shops. Specific sales figures were not disclosed.

Caorunn is produced using five locally-sourced botanicals at the Balmenach Distillery in the Highlands, where the company recently invested £3 million to install a new anaerobic digestion system to reduce its carbon footprint. The brand’s growth is revealed in new accounts for Inver House at Companies House, which reveal that sales were steady during its most recent accounting period.

Comparing the year with its previous accounts, which covered the nine months to September 30, 2016, turnover was booked at £62.7 million versus £48m, while profit before tax came at £7.2m compared with £6.7m. The company notes that its gross profit margin dipped to 37% from 38%, reflecting a fall in bulk blend margins, while operating expenses grew as further investment was made to support brand promotion.

According the accounts, the company continued to invest in whisky stocks, with the value of stock held by the distiller standing at £118.3m at September 30, up from £114.8m.

The period covered by the accounts covered the exit last July of long-standing managing director Graham Stevenson, who had worked for the distiller since 1994. Mr Stevenson left to join industry veteran Billy Walker and Tricia Savage in a consortium to acquire the GlenAllachie Distillery in Speyside from Pernod Ricard.

He was replaced as managing director of Inver House by former operations director Martin Leonard, who has worked for the company since 2000.

Mr Leonard said of the distiller’s accounts: “These results are as we expected and show that the business is in a strong position and delivering on our long-term strategy to build on our highly successful brands in global markets. We are also committed to investment programmes at our distilleries, to ensure they are in good shape to deliver increased demand for stock in the future, where possible using the latest green technology and processes to protect the environment surrounding each site.”

He added: “In terms of our brands, Caorunn is a very good example of our strategy in action. A 47% growth figure in the UK market demonstrates how our production, sales and marketing skills and long-term approach can build a brand to become one of the UK’s best sellers in what is an extremely competitive sector.

“We are investing heavily in supporting our brand portfolio to compete in the global market, with a recent relaunch for Speyburn in the UK and US, and further brand projects planned in the near future.”

The accounts show the average staff number was unchanged at 212. Overall payroll costs climbed to £9.9m from £7.6m, with the remuneration of the highest-paid director rising to £283,000 from £249,000.