Diageo's Johnnie Walker is star performer'

The brand was the star performer for Diageo, which announced its full year result yesterday (August 30).

Organic net sales were up by 16% in the year to end-June 2007.

The brand generated almost 1 billion in net sales for Diageo last year, while volumes were up by 14% - or an extra two million cases a year - driven by an 18% increase in marketing and promotional activity.

"There has been a renaissance in Scotch whisky over the past couple of years,' Diageo's chief executive Paul Walsh said at a press conference.

"As we gain access to the emerging markets of India and China, I would expect the category to grow further. Scotch is rich in character and heritage and Johnnie Walker is a brand that customers aspire to."

As the world's number one Scotch brand, Johnnie Walker has spearheaded growth for the whole industry helping to drive exports and create jobs.

Diageo recently demonstrated its commitment to the industry by injecting 100m into its Scotch whisky operations. These included capacity increases in both grain and malt whisky production and a planned 40m investment in a new malt whisky distillery in Roseisle, Speyside.

The Scotch Whisky Association says Scotch exports are now at an all-time high with volumes exceeding 1bn bottles a year. It believes Scotch exports to China alone have grown from 1m to around 60m in six years.

In India, the recent scrapping of additional customs duties has been hailed as a 'significant step' by the SWA, which had long campaigned for the abolition of the discriminatory tariffs.

"India is a huge market with plenty of potential for Diageo," said Walsh.

Last year, Johnnie Walker outperformed the category and competition in the Asia Pacific region and Walsh revealed that it had closed the gap on its nearest rival Pernod Ricard by six market share points in China last year. "We expect to be number one in China one day... that is our goal," said Walsh.