PARIS (Reuters) – The wine and spirits group Pernod Ricard confirmed on Thursday that it expects strong growth in sales over the year due, in particular, to further price increases in China and the United States to compensate for the high energy, glass and packaging costs.

The owner of Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka reported turnover for its first half of 2022-2023 at 7.12 billion euros, i.e. internal growth (excluding changes in interest rates). exchange rates and changes in scope) of 12%.

According to a consensus quoted by analysts, they were expecting internal growth of 8.2% over the period.

The Pernod Ricard title took 4.99% to 198.80 euros at 10:00 GMT on the Paris Stock Exchange, among the largest increases in the CAC 40, which then gained 0.91%.

The 10% price increase applied by Pernod Ricard during the half-year made it possible “to maintain our margins in an inflationary context”, declared in a press release the group’s chairman and CEO, Alexandre Ricard.

Alexandre Ricard also specified during a conference call with analysts that he would not be surprised to end the fiscal year with a price increase of around 9% (“high single digit”).

“It’s very important to protect our margins in a highly inflationary environment,” he said.

This price increase was welcomed by Credit Suisse analysts who see it as “a good sign in an inflationary environment”.

In terms of annual outlook, Pernod Ricard, which had said in the first quarter that it was aiming for dynamic growth over the year, reiterated its objective of strong and diversified growth in turnover, despite an environment that is normalizing.

Sales in Asia and the rest of the world increased by 18% over the half-year and the owner of Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka believes that the prospects in China give rise to optimism with the lifting of restrictions. against COVID-19.

In China, first-half sales increased 4%, marked by strong demand for Martell cognac in the first quarter during the Mid-Autumn Festival, but weak sales in the second due to COVID-19 restrictions. 19.

Demand was weak during the crucial Chinese New Year festivities in January due to health restrictions, the CEO confirmed, but the group said it was confident about the outlook in the country with the abandonment of the zero COVID policy.

(Report Dominique Vidalon, written by Kate Entringer, edited by Jean-Michel Bélot and Blandine Hénault)

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