There was probably something - in almost equal measure - for the glass half-empty and half-full types in the latest results from the owner of The Macallan this week.

On the face of it, a sharp drop in profits at Scotch whisky distiller Edrington, which also owns The Glenrothes and Highland Park single malts, provided little room for cheer.

However, Edrington chief executive Scott McCroskie made no bones this time last year, when the distiller reported stellar results for the 12 months to March 2024, about the trading climate by that point having turned somewhat chillier.

While voicing his belief back then that Edrington’s results for that financial year were “among the best in the spirits industry”, he simultaneously highlighted his expectations as he mulled the outlook that demand would be adversely affected by economic pressures seen in the second half of that period.

It is crucial to consider the drop in profits for the year to March 2025 in the context of both the tougher times for the overall industry recently and the growth achieved by Glasgow-based Edrington in recent years.

And the extent to which Edrington’s profits are ahead of pre-pandemic levels, even after the sharp fall recorded for the year to March, surely provides some reason for at least the half-full types to raise their glasses in albeit a perhaps more muted toast than last year.

It has been a big week for both Edrington and William Grant & Sons, with completion of a major transaction first announced last September.

Edrington this week completed the sale of The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt brands to William Grant & Sons, which backed the........

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