Growth in sales of the Glenlivet single malt whisky helped French spirits giant Pernod Ricard to post better than expected first quarter performance, according to figures revealed yesterday.
The firm said double-digit growth for both its Jameson whiskey and Glenlivet scotch helped the firm grow sales 3% to £1.6billion in the quarter to the end of September 30.
It’s “key local brands” also grew 5%, mainly driven by sales in the Indian market.
Brands in this category include spirits less familiar to Westerners because they are aimed at specific markets, including Royal Stag, a blend of Indian spirits and imported Scottish malt and Passport, a blended whisky which is the number two “standard” seller in Brazil.
But the Paris-based firm said conditions remain difficult in China, where sales fell by 9%, while Europe, led by a rebound in Spain, and the United States also saw improvement..
Chairman and Chief Executive Alexandre Ricard said that he remained cautious on China amid a “challenging” economic climate, adding that the Chinese New Year celebrations in February would provide a clearer picture on demand.
Like its global rivals, Pernod has also been hit by a Chinese government crackdown on luxury gift-giving and personal spending by civil servants, as well as slowing economic growth in its second-biggest market.
But the world’s second-biggest spirits group behind Britain’s Diageo said said that sales in China, which accounts for 9% of group revenue, were hit by wholesaler de-stocking and a slowdown in sales growth for the less expensive Martell Noblige cognac.
The company’s comments on China contrasted with those of Remy Cointreau and LVMH’s Moet Hennessy spirits division which had both said last week that cognac demand in China was improving slightly
Elsewhere, India continued to achieve double-digit sales growth and is now on a par with China in terms of its contribution to group revenue.