Cooley's potential has Beam smiling

ONE MORE THING:THERE WERE positive noises from senior executives at US spirits group Beam last week about Irish whiskey maker Cooley Distillery, which it acquired for $95 million last month.

In a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and full-year results, Beam’s president and chief executive Matt Shattock described Cooley’s whiskey brands as “unique assets” with “strong upside potential”.

“We are very excited about the acquisition of Cooley,” Shattock said.

“By leveraging our portfolio and distribution network, we will expand and strengthen these [Cooley] brands, led by Kilbeggan, in key markets across North America and Europe.”

Shattock added that he expects the Cooley acquisition to be “earnings neutral” in 2012, reflecting “substantial international brand investment”. It will then be “increasingly accretive going forward”.

Beam has good form in this area.

In March last year, it acquired Skinnygirl, the cocktail created by TV chef Bethenny Frankel, and ramped up its growth. Skinnygirl’s net sales growth last year was an eye-popping 486 per cent.

These were Beam’s first public comments on Cooley and bode well for the future growth of the Irish company.

Sláinte.