Pernod Ricard SA, the maker of Jameson whiskey, Chivas Regal whisky and Martell cognac, reported third-quarter sales in line with analyst estimates as retailers in the US restocked.
Organic revenue rose 1 percent in the three months through March, the Paris-based company said Thursday. Analysts expected 1.2 per cent growth. The company rounds growth off to the nearest digit. Sales in Asia and the company’s rest-of-world division fell 5 per cent while analysts expected 1 per cent growth.
"Our ongoing initiatives in the USA. are starting to deliver," Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Ricard said in the statement.
Pernod Ricard is seeking to offset a slowdown in China, where it has forecast demand for spirits to fall further, as opposed to cognac makers Hennessy and Remy Cointreau, which reported signs of a rebound.
The company is reinvigorating sales of its flagship Absolut vodka in the US and Europe through new packaging and releasing a more expensive high-end variant, Elyx. It is also investing in Africa, a continent Ricard has said could become as important as Asia, currently the distiller’s largest region for revenue.
Revenue in the period fell 3 per cent to €1.86 billion ($2.1 billion) as currency swings erased growth.
The company reiterated its forecast for organic profit growth of 1 percent to 3 per cent this year.
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