PARIS (Reuters) – French spirits group Pernod Ricard said strong demand in its key U.S., Chinese and European markets drove a 20% jump in organic sales in the third quarter of its 2021/2022 fiscal year, beating analysts’ forecasts.
Pernod Ricard, which owns Mumm champagne, Absolut vodka and Martell cognac, said it expected softer fourth quarter sales due to COVID disruptions in China, a gradual normalisation in business in the United States and due to the war in Ukraine.
Pernod Ricard predicted, for its 2021/2022 full financial year ending June 30 and despite an increasingly challenging and inflationary environment, organic growth of 17% in profit from recurring operations.
Resilient consumption by people staying at home, the reopening of bars and restaurants and a continuing recovery in travel retail would fuel full year sales growth across regions, it added.
Pernod, the world’s second-biggest spirits group after Diageo, reported sales of 2.447 billion euros ($2.57 billion) in the three months to March 31 – up 20% on a like-for-like basis, beating analysts’ expectations of 14.3% growth.
Pernod Ricard’s fiscal year starts on July 1.
($1 = 0.9507 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
