PARIS (Reuters) – French spirits producer Pernod Ricard reported on Thursday a 5.9% drop in its organic sales in the first quarter, in a context of weak demand in China.
Pernod Ricard presented its quarterly results a week after China imposed temporary anti-dumping measures on imports of certain spirits from the European Union.
“Measures are being taken to mitigate the impact on the group’s performance,” assured Pernod Ricard, whose turnover fell by 26% in China in the first quarter.
The group cites a “difficult macroeconomic context” in the country and “weak consumer demand during the summer and during the Mid Autumn Festival”.
In total, the quarterly turnover “is lower than expected”, recognizes Pernod Ricard while a consensus of analysts gave an organic decline of 4.8%.
Pernod Ricard – which owns Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka – however said it expects “a return to organic growth in turnover, with a continued recovery in volumes, and the maintenance of the organic operating margin” for its entire 2024/2025 financial year which began on July 1.
In the medium term, the group says it is confident of organic growth in turnover at the top of a range of between +4% and +7%.
(Written by Florence Loève and Dominique Vidalon, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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