Lockdown recovery sees Bushmills revenues up 36%

The Old Bushmills Distillery Company has recovered from the Covid-19 lockdown slump of 2020, with revenues up by 36% to £43.2 million last year.

With the figure matching income from 2019, pre-tax profits also rose 10% year-on-year to £7.97m. And while 2021 was a less profitable year than 2019, the performance was well above the £6.6m pre-tax profit recorded during 2018.

The Co Antrim distillery, which is Ireland’s oldest, has been owned by Mexican spirits giant Becle since 2014, the world’s largest tequila producer.

The latest annual report also revealed the value of the whiskey held in Bushmills’ 17 maturation warehouses were valued at £143.4m in 2021, almost 11% up on 2020.

Of that, just shy of £26m of whiskey was recorded as ‘maturing within one year’, with £108.4m ‘maturing in more than one year’.

Company directors said Bushmills’ latest  figures “demonstrated a food level of performance in its major markets despite the continued impact of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The report also confirmed that the company’s long-standing bottling contract with Irish Distillers Limited was terminated in February 2022, earlier than expected, with bottling now being conducted in-house.

The Bushmills’ portfolio includes: Bushmills Original, Black Bush, Bushmills 10-Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 16-Year Old Single Malt, Bushmills 21-Year Old Single Malt and Bushmills Steamship