William Grant FY sales rise 21.7%

Hendrick’s owner William Grant & Sons saw revenue grow by double digits last year, with profit returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The Scottish spirits firm reported revenue growth of 21.7% to £1.72 billion (US$2.1bn) last year, while profit after tax reached £331.3 million (US$403.6m) – an increase of 33.8%.

The family-led company also owns Sailor Jerry rum, and Scotch brands Grant’s, Glenfiddich and The Balvenie. It recently acquired English gin brand Silent Pool for an undisclosed sum.

A spokesperson for William Grant & Sons said: “While global crises, including supply issues and inflation, posed significant challenges in 2022, we are proud that performance is now just ahead of pre-Covid levels, and believe that the business is well positioned for consistent growth in the long term, in partnership with our customers.”

The firm said it had been investing in its brands and staff at ‘record levels’, while also streamlining its processes to ‘ensure efficiencies and resilience’ across its operations.

William Grant has made investments in processes and technology, including the implementation of a new enterprise resource-planning system.

Among its highlights for 2022 were the launches of Glenfiddich ‘Time Reimagined’, a collection of 50-, 40- and 30-year-old whiskies, and a 60-year-old Balvenie single malt.

William Grant also expanded its Hendrick’s range with the release of Neptunia gin in April last year.

Hendrick’s is one of the world’s biggest-selling gin brands.

The Scottish gin sold 1.6m nine-litre cases last year, an increase of 17.9%, according to The Brand Champions 2023 report.

Glenfiddich is also the second-biggest single malt Scotch brand in the world, behind The Glenlivet.