Global headwinds for its scotch business dragged down earnings for Emperador Inc., the spirits unit of Alliance Global Group, with attributable net income slipping to ₱4.68 billion in the first nine months of the year from ₱4.79 billion a year ago.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the spirits firm reported that revenues declined 4.6 percent to ₱41.22 billion from ₱43.2 billion in the comparable period last year.

“The brandy business has returned to growth in the nine-month period. The Scotch whisky business continued to face challenges due to the soft global market situation,” Emperador said.

The company noted, however, that its Scotch whisky segment gained traction in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the second quarter of the same year. Attributable income for the segment jumped 32 percent quarter-on-quarter, from ₱407 million to ₱537 million, though this was still much lower than the ₱946 million earned in the third quarter of 2024.

“The brandy business growth trajectory is predominantly driven by the Philippine market with the successful introduction of recent product developments,” Emperador stated.

It explained that the global beverage alcohol industry is affected by low consumer confidence due to global trade uncertainties, high inflation, and cautious spending, which continues to impact the Scotch whisky business. “This sentiment led to a consumer down-trading to more accessible price points, affecting the super-premium and luxury product categories,” the company said.

Emperador pointed out, though, that the Scotch whisky business saw continuous quarter-on-quarter growth in 2025, noting that the trend “seems to be consistent with the super-premium and luxury industry globally.”

The Brandy Segment delivered ₱26.3 billion in revenues and other income from external customers in the first nine months of 2025, up five percent year-on-year. This was boosted by the successful introduction of a new Fundador product innovation in the Philippines, which recorded double-digit growth. Higher revenues, coupled with lower interest and operating expenses, resulted in an 88 percent jump in the brandy segment's attributable earnings to ₱3.3 billion at the end of the nine-month period.

In contrast, the Scotch Whisky Segment turned over ₱14.9 billion in revenues and other income in the first nine months of 2025, an 18 percent fall as consumers downgraded to value brands. While the third-quarter top line was still behind year-on-year, it inched up by three basis points quarter-on-quarter.

In the third quarter, sales for Whyte & Mackay and sales in North America continued climbing quarter-on-quarter. The segment also tracked growth in the Middle East, Africa, and India. Meanwhile, Europe, Asia, and the USA were cycling a fast start experienced in the first nine months of 2024.

Third-quarter sales of single-malts were outpaced by blended scotch sales and were still lagging year-on-year at the end of the nine-month period. Lower revenues plus higher interest expenses led to a sharp drop in the Scotch Whisky segment's attributable profits, which fell to ₱1.35 billion from ₱3 billion a year ago.