Pernod Ricard, which owns the Irish Distillers Group, has announced that sales in the first half of the year climbed 7% to almost 2.2 billion euros.
The Irish whiskey brands performed well with Jameson sales up by 14% and Bushmills up 9%. Wine brand Jacobs Creek was the star performer for Pernod Ricard with sales up 25%.
However, sales overall in Ireland were flat in the first half, hit badly by the effects of the foot and mouth crisis earlier this year.
The company's joint managing director, Richard Burrows, said the sale of the BWG unit - which owns the Spar franchise - is well underway. He said that seven bidders are examining the company and bids are expected by the end of this month.
The French drinks group is counting on US and Canadian approval for its Seagram acquisition in September and expects to narrow the field of candidates to buy its BWG wholesaler within weeks.
Pernod has mounted a joint bid with global leader Diageo to buy the Seagram drink portfolio. Pernod paid $3.15 billion for its 39% share of Seagram that will propel it to third place in the global beverage stakes.
