Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, Paul Duffy, Chairman & CEO

Pernod Ricard, the French-owner of Irish Distillers, issued a report today for the first six months of its 2007/2008 financial year.

Pernod Ricard consolidated net sales (excluding duties and taxes) for the 2007/08 1st half-year (1st July to 31 December 2007) increased by 5.9% to € 3 713 million, compared to € 3,507 million in the 2006/07 first half.

Commenting on the performance of Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, Paul Duffy, Chairman & CEO said: “The first six months of FY 07/08 proved to be a very encouraging period for Jameson, one of Pernod Ricard’s (PR) key international brands. In addition to an accelerating growth trend in both volume and (+16%) and sales value (+23%) this period also saw the launch of the new Premium Jameson Reserve Range to great acclaim. These products serve to reinforce the heritage and craft credentials of Jameson, the fastest growing international whiskey in the world. On the home market, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard affirmed its leadership in the spirits and wine sector and performed well in the key Christmas period.”

Jameson 

• PR said Jameson has continued to perform exceptionally well for the first six months of this fiscal year (07/08) with volume growth in South Africa (+29%), Russia (+32%), Eastern Europe (+48%) and the USA (+25%) where it is consistently identified as a Hot Brand in the spirits category by Impact, the key Drinks Industry publication.

• Jameson continues its consistent ascent upwards in the list of the world’s elite spirit brands with a position close to top 40 as recorded by Impact.

•  With sales of 2.3 million cases confirmed for 06/07, and an escalating growth trend, Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard says it is very optimistic that Jameson will achieve its next milestone of 3 million cases by the end of the decade.

•  As one of the key Premium Brands within the Pernod Ricard family, the group says that Jameson benefits from an accelerated rate of consumer marketing investment. For fiscal 07/08, a €67m global advertising and promotion campaign is planned, half of which is for media.

•  Jameson has teamed up again with The Dublin International Film Festival as title sponsor and will invest €1 million in the sponsorship. Jameson also continues its sponsorship arrangement with Robert de Niro’s Tribeca Film Festival which takes place every May in New York.

Ireland

• In its home market of Ireland, PR said Jameson continued to perform strongly and gained share in both the whiskey and the overall spirits market.

• Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard confirmed its leadership position in the spirits and wine sector with 5 of the top10 spirit brands in its portfolio (Jameson, Powers Gold Label, Paddy, Huzzar and Cork Dry Gin)

• Cork Dry Gin bucked the downward trend in the gin category and recorded good growth for the first six months.

• Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard’s vodka portfolio registered a very satisfactory performance for the period, according to the group, with a particularly strong showing by the authentic Russian vodka, Stolichnaya, which more than doubled sales.

• The company’s wine portfolio produced a very strong half year performance, gaining overall share, with a particularly strong showing for its Australian brands (Jacob’s Creek and Wyndham Estate)

• PR says that incorporation of the Concha y Toro range as of 1^st January 2008 will further enhance the company’s leading range of wines (No. 1 Australian Jacob’s Creek, No. 1 New Zealand Montana, No. 1 South African Long Mountain).

• West Coast Cooler benefited from an updated advertising and promotion campaign and continued its consistent growth, gaining + 15% in volume for the half year.

• The group say Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard posted an extremely strong performance with its leading premium brands of champagne, Mumm and Perrier Jouet, which delivered "a sparkling performance in a very dynamic category, more than doubling their sales for the half year."

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