Chivas Brothers boss Laurent Lacassagne said yesterday the whisky-maker was focused on potential expansion of The Glenlivet distillery, near Ballindalloch, on Speyside as a means of growing global exports.
Paisley-based Chivas and its French parent, Pernod Ricard, aim to cash in on fast-growing demand for The Glenlivet around the world.
Figures released by Paris-based Pernod last week showed a 14% year-on-year jump in sales of the single malt in the six months to December 31.
Yesterday, Mr Lacassagne told the Press and Journal the group’s current investment plans for whisky centred on growing production of The Glenlivet – one of the world’s favourite drams.
The Chivas Bros chairman and chief executive added: “We are permanently reviewing the alignment of capacity with our long-term plans for the (overall) business.
“We have lodged a planning application and now have planning consent for an increase in production at the Glenlivet.
“It was an application for our long-term future, although we have not finalised the details yet. We will probably do that over next six to nine months.”
Early stage plans unveiled by Chivas and approved by the Cairngorms National Park Authority in December could see a trebling of production at The Glenlivet, where the owner was seeking permission to build new facilities and upgrade existing ones.
The investment, which could run into millions of pounds, is expected to create 13 jobs.
Chivas insists nothing has been decided but Mr Lacassagne said the long-term outlook for whisky exports was good, despite sluggish sales in some key markets just now.
Government anti-extravagance measures have hit the practice of corporate gift-giving in China, affecting whisky imports, while US sales growth remains slow the recent economic meltdown across the Atlantic.
“The prospects for Scotch globally remain very strong despite the recent turbulence”, Mr Lacassagne said, highlighting continued growth for Pernod’s whiskies in emerging markets.
Countries such as Brazil, India, Turkey and parts of Africa represent “the future of the Scotch industry” as global demand for Scotland’s national drink starts to pick up again, he added.
In China, “genuine” whisky drinkers – those who buy for themselves – are likely to drive sales growth as the country’s wealthier middle-class expands, he said.
Industry figures published last autumn revealed a worrying slump in global demand for whisky during the first half of 2014.
The Scotch Whisky Association said the total value of whisky sold overseas was £1.77billion, an 11% decline from the same period in 2013, while the total volume shipped was down by 5.5% to 532million standard 70cl bottles.
Exports to the US – the top market for overseas whisky sales in terms of revenue – were down by 12% in volume to