WORLDWIDE SALES of Jameson whiskey helped to contribute to a bumper year for drinks group Pernot Ricard.

Accounts published this morning show the group as having made net profit of €1.2 billion for the twelve months to the end of June 2012.

Worldwide sales rose to €8.22 billion, up by 8 per cent on last year – with the Irish whiskey one of the star performers in the group’s international portfolio.

The volume of Jameson sales was up by 15 per cent, while a 3 per cent increase in the average sales price further pushed up the overall sales.

A total of 3.9 million nine-litre cases of the whiskey, originally distilled in Dublin but now produced in Cork, were sold last year – an all-time record for the whiskey, making it Pernod Ricard’s sixth highest-selling product.

The only drinks which sold higher were the Ricard pastis, the Ballantine’s and Chivas Regal Scotch whiskies, Jacob’s Creek wine, and Absolut vodka – which at 11.4 million cases was the group’s biggest seller.

Overall drinks sales in Asia were up by 15 per cent on the previous year, with the group saying Asia was its primary growth driver, though growth was also strong in Africa and the Middle East. Sales in Europe grew more modestly, at 2 per cent.