- Sales from three months to end of March – fiscal Q3 – decline 3% to EUR2.28bn (US$2.59bn)
- For fiscal year-to-date, top line down 4% at EUR8.45bn
- Third-quarter sales in US boosted by tariff announcements, rising by 2%
- Global travel retail unit down 31% in Q3, -17% year-to-date
Pernod Ricard has maintained its sales declines for another quarter, with fiscal 2025 forecast to finish in the red.
The group confirmed today (17 April) that its sales in the three months to the end of March – Pernod Ricard’s fiscal third quarter – echoed the previous period’s -3% showing. Preceded by a 6% fall in fiscal Q1, the brand owner’s year-to-date sales stood at 4% down on the corresponding nine months a year earlier.
Framing its performance as “resilient … in a global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment which remains challenging and very fluid”, the company confirmed its full-year 2025 forecast for a low single-digit slip in sales. The outlook “incorporates the impact of expected tariffs in China and in the US based on the information we have today”.
The quarterly figures were overshadowed by a slump by almost one third (-31%) for sales in the global travel retail channel – the blame was placed on a high comparison base a year ago as well as the “suspension of the duty-regime on cognac” in China’s GTR since the beginning of December. Domestically, China also proved a hindrance, declining by 5% due to a “very soft” Chinese New Year period.
Elsewhere, Europe was similarly tough, with the later Easter this year impacting Spain in particular. Sales in the overall region slid 7% in Q3. However, there was good news from the US (+2%), where the recent tariff announcements by President Donald Trump prompted wholesalers to up their orders. What little reference there was to brand in today’s results included noting of “improving performances” in the US for Irish whiskey Jameson and Absolut vodka, aided by the launch of the Absolut Ocean Spray RTD in early 2024.
“Our balanced and broad-based geographic breadth and our diversified portfolio remain key in mitigating some of the impacts caused by the challenging environment,” the group said. “… We are continuously adapting our resources with agility, deploying our operational efficiencies and steering the organisation to fuel our future growth and optimising our cash generation.”
