Scotch whisky distiller not shouting from rooftops. What's going on?

It did not, in the release, mention the comparative figures for 2022.

And there was not any particular fanfare about what are actually very impressive rises in profits and turnover last year at William Grant & Sons, which makes the Glenfiddich single malt Scotch whisky and Hendrick’s gin.

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A look back at the prior-year results, available on William Grant & Sons’ website, shows that the family-owned distiller made after-tax profits of £331.3m on turnover of £1.721bn in 2022. So after-tax profits were up by about 34% last year, on the back of a 14% increase in turnover.

What is more, the profits and turnover in 2022 were up by 33.8% and 21.7% respectively on those for 2021, making the increases last year look all the more impressive.

William Grant & Sons, while not shouting about rises in profits and turnover from the rooftops, did note that it had performed “strongly”.

There is certainly no arguing with this somewhat matter-of-fact assessment.

William Grant & Sons also highlighted its long-term approach, a most impressive aspect of the company.

It published its financial results the week after it emerged that it is buying The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt blended Scotch whisky brands from Glasgow-based distiller Edrington, which owns The Macallan.

Edrington highlighted when it announced this deal last week its focus on the ultra-premium segment, and its belief that it was the “right moment” to exit the blended Scotch whisky category.

William Grant & Sons, while taking a different view from Edrington on blended Scotch, also flagged its expansion and evolution in the ultra-premium arena when it announced its results this week.

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The distiller, which was founded by William Grant in 1887, flagged as “key highlights” for 2023 the unveiling by Glenfiddich of the “archive collection of rare family casks laid down over the last half-century”, and the brand’s release of Grand Yozakura,“the first single malt Scotch whisky to be finished in rare ex-awamori casks”.

It said of its 2023 financial results: “The figures signify that, despite the volatile macro environment, William Grant & Sons continues to perform strongly.”

William Grant & Sons added: “During 2023, progress was made in building an increasingly effective and efficient organisation with the capabilities needed to perform well into the future. With long-term thinking a core value of the business, the company continues to invest strongly in capital expenditure projects, building world-class brands through new products and partnerships, and its people.”

We should not underestimate the importance of such “long-term thinking” in these days of often ultra-short corporate attention spans which frequently prove to be value-destroying. And it is heartening to see this long-term approach highlighted as a “core value” of the business.

Also most heartening is the emphasis by William Grant & Sons of its continuing strong investment in both capital expenditure projects and its people.

Edrington’s story has, of course, also been one of strategic decision-making with a focus on the long term and major investment.

In July, Edrington unveiled a 6% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £411m for the year to March as core revenues jumped 11% to £1.165bn.

And this followed a sharp rise in profits in the previous financial year.

Edrington in summer 2023 announced pre-tax profits before exceptional items had risen by 43% to £387.7m in the 12 months to March 31 that year.

Both distillers have the crucial advantage of their ownership structures allowing such long-term thinking and heavy investment. While William Grant & Sons has its family ownership, Edrington is controlled by a charitable trust.

Interestingly, William Grant & Sons backed Edrington in its bold acquisition of the stock market-listed Highland Distillers, which by that time owned The Macallan, back in 1999.

And the great successes over years and decades of both Edrington and William Grant & Sons, which are major players on the global stage, have greatly benefited charitable causes.

William Grant & Sons noted its efforts on this front on Monday.

It observed that the family-led William Grant Foundation had awarded a record total of more than £4.7m in new grants to 114 charitable organisations last year.

Edrington said last week as it announced the sale of The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt to William Grant & Sons for an undisclosed sum, in a deal subject to regulatory approvals, that its principal shareholder, The Robertson Trust, had donated £367m to charitable causes in Scotland since 1961.

William Grant & Sons, while it seemed content enough to hide its light under a bushel when it came to its financial performance, did say earlier this week that it was “proud” of the growth it had achieved.

Søren Hagh, chief executive of William Grant & Sons, said: “Despite 2023 being a year faced with supply-chain challenges and macroeconomic shifts, we are proud of the growth delivered across our portfolio of leading brands and look forward to continuing to build an ever-stronger company that delivers for our customers and consumers”.

It certainly looks like most impressive growth.

And it is surely something about which William Grant & Sons could make a lot more noise, if it so wished.

However, the distiller, like Edrington, has tended to go about its business relatively quietly.

And both distillers have done so to great effect.

It would be good to see more businesses take the sort of long-term approach epitomised by William Grant & Sons and Edrington. The success that can be achieved by standing back and weighing decisions properly, on a long time horizon, can in a Scottish context be seen clearly in many family businesses across a raft of sectors.

The idea of longer-term thinking catching on in companies in which it does not exist at the moment is probably unlikely, in these days of corporate change for the sake of it, driven by executives on short-term bonuses and consultants who make their money out of permanent upheaval. This general move towards short-termism has been a most lamentable feature of the corporate world in recent decades, and the prospects of this tide being stemmed let alone reversed look slim.

However, there is good reason to believe that the embracing of long-term thinking would deliver far better results for many companies which have favoured something more akin to a headless chicken approach, and by extension would also benefit their employees and shareholders.