Strong result for V&S Vin & Sprit in 2006

V&S Vin & Sprit, the international spirit producer and wine importer owned by the Swedish government, published strong numbers for last year: Operating profits up by 10% to SEK 2.2 bn, and net sales up by 8% to SEK 10.3 bn. The spirits branch V&S Absolut Spirits contributed 84% of the profit and 57% of the sales. Perhaps that may make other (private) importers on the Scandinavian market to think (hope?) that V&S might as well quit the wine business since it contributes comparatively little... (But it is perhaps interesting to keep in mind that several large wine importers in Sweden are actually owned by the Finnish government!) The chief executive of the government owned company says: "Increased sales of the Group's largest brand, Absolut Vodka, are a result of our strategy of increasing efforts on the US market while focusing on a number of prioritized markets.” We wonder how that fits with the government’s strategy to decrease alcohol consumption?