SCOTS whisky company Chivas Brothers has announced its full-year performance with net sales up 17%, taking total sales to a ten-year high.
They have also announced more than £60m in planned investment over the next three years to accelerate energy and carbon reduction journeys.
The company’s goal is to achieve carbon-neutral distillation by the end of 2026.
This follows their move to make heat recovery technology learnings open source for the industry, after proving successful at Glentauchers Distillery, with a 53% reduction in carbon emissions at the site.
The growth of the company’s strategic brands has been enhanced by the company’s balanced global footprint, underpinned by a demand for Prestige products.
The Chivas Brothers are behind some of the world’s best-loved Scotch whisky brands including Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, Royal Salute and The Glenlivet.
Chivas Regal celebrated global growth of 25%, with strong performances in markets such as India and Japan.
The brand’s success was driven by its core aged range, with Chivas Regal 18 the leading 18-year-old blended Scotch globally by both volume and value in the 2022 calendar year.
Ballantine’s grew by 13%, driven by particularly strong growth in its prestige range, which exceeded that of the total Prestige and Prestige Plus Scotch category.
Ballantine’s 21 and Ballantine’s 17 have been the key drivers alongside Ballantine’s Finest, with the Asia region excelling during this fiscal.
Royal Salute recorded a significant 32% increase in sales, growing ahead of the Prestige and Prestige Plus Scotch categories by both value and volume in 2022.
The brand continued to grow through exclusive luxury releases such as the Royal Salute Coronation of King Charles III Edition.
It showed particularly strong growth in the US, along with double-digit growth in core Asian markets including Korea, India and the Taiwan Market.
The Glenlivet continues its upward trajectory with 9% growth and was the best-selling single malt by volume in 2022.
This has been driven by significant demand for its Super Premium and Ultra Premium ranges, with balanced growth across the brand’s global footprint.
Speciality brand Aberlour, part of the broader Chivas Brothers single malt brand portfolio, also grew 11% in the malts category.
The Asia region has been particularly robust, with 21% growth in the last 12 months, and the number one contributor to growth overall.
The North American market has seen stellar growth in a highly saturated market, with 8% growth. The US and Canada saw 8% and 7% growth respectively.
Chivas Brothers’ financial results have supported its role in shaping and protecting the future of whisky with a number of significant investments
This includes the announcement of more than £60m in planned investment to implement heat recovery technologies and install electric boilers across viable distilleries.
Chivas Brothers will also invest in strategic inventory management, ensuring a future-fit model that continues to meet the demand for its Scotch whiskies around the world.
Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers, Jean-Etienne Gourgues, commented: “The historic highs we’re seeing across our strategic brands signal the success of our premiumisation strategy which has enabled Chivas Brothers to outperform the market.
“Our highest growth of the last decade reinforces our position to shape the future of sustainable Scotch while continuing to meet demand.
“We have fast-tracked a number of sustainability initiatives to meet our own ambitious targets and remain committed to supporting the industry in ushering in this new era —as we demonstrated earlier this year by making our heat recovery findings open source.”
