Liquor giant Emperador Inc. is pushing forward with its global expansion as it plans to invest in key international markets including Spain, Mexico, and the United Kingdom despite looming trade war.
Emperador said Wednesday it is growing its vineyard portfolio in Spain with an additional 470 hectares of farmland while also expanding its presence in Mexico and doubling its distillery footprint in Scotland.
It said its global expansion will continue over the next five years, paving the way for significant growth in the near future.
“Our ongoing expansions in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Mexico are testaments to our unwavering resolve to pursue our global aspirations,” said Emperador president and chief executive officer Winston Co in a statement to the stock exchange.
In Spain, Emperador’s vineyard farmland expansion is seen to significantly boost its grape farming capacity, which currently stands at about 17 million kilos per annum.
During the first quarter of the year the company recorded 7 percent growth in volume and a 10.8 percent growth in value in Spain, based on consumer consumption data. The growth was achieved even as the overall Spanish spirits market declined by 6.3 percent.
Emperador has strengthened its presence in Mexico after its subsidiary Casa Pedro Domecq acquired Destileria Los Danzantes, which owns mezcal brands Los Danzantes and Alipus. These brands are expected to become available in the Philippines later this year.
“Destileria Los Danzantes is at the forefront of the highly aspirational and artisanal mezcal segment, which expanded by 6% per year as a category from 2017 to 2022 and is expected to continue growing in the next few years,” Emperador said.
Emperador is also expanding its operations In the United Kingdom. The Dalmore distillery in Alness, Scotland is undergoing expansion to double its production capacity.
The company is currently expanding its whisky maturation complex in its Invergordon distillery, doubling its footprint from 45.4 hectares to 92 hectares.
This extension will enable the grain distillery to house an additional 1.5 million casks of maturing whisky.
The company’s UK-based subsidiary Whyte & Mackay is also pushing through with its expansion to meet the rising demand for single malt whisky globally.
Meanwhile, Emperador also reported that net income for the first quarter of the year grew 6.5 percent to P 1.85 billion.
