- Sales in closing quarter – to end of June – flat at EUR2.51bn (US$2.91bn)
- Fiscal 2025 finishes down 3% at EUR10.96bn (US$12.73bn)
- US sales fall 6% in FY, China slumps by 21%
- Top-line increases expected in fiscal 2027-2029 of between 3% and 6% per year
Pernod Ricard is entering what it has dubbed a “transition” phase ahead of a “new era of volatility and opportunity”, after posting a relative improvement in sales performance from its latest quarter.
The company, which was down in sales terms by 4% in the first nine months of its fiscal 2025, today booked flat sales from the quarter to the end of June. Subsequently, the full-year period stood at -3% sales-wise, versus the corresponding period a year earlier.
The 12-month showing was behind rival Diageo’s performance over the same period, which came in at +1.7%.
Geographically, the main drags over the full year were China and Asia’s global travel retail channel, both of which are sizable markets for cognac generally and Pernod Ricard’s Martel brand specifically. In China, the cognac mark was in decline last year along with the group’s scotch whisky portfolio, resulting in a 21% sales slump in the market. In Asia GTR, meanwhile, the “suspension of cognac imports in China Duty Free since December 2024” is unlikely to be resolved until fiscal Q2, (October to December), the company said. Pernod Ricard’s overall GTR sales fell 13% in fiscal 2025.
Elsewhere, ‘Europe’ was described as having been “resilient”, dipping by 2%, while over in the ‘Americas’ reporting region, ongoing uncertainty around tariffs in the US mingled with “subdued consumer confidence” in the country to result in a 3% FY sales decrease.
Turning to the brand owner’s portfolio, Jameson posted a rise in sales of 3% in the year, albeit on stronger volumes of +5%. Beefeater surprised with a value lift – also of 3%, while champagne mark Perrier-Jouët was out in front at +8% – although again on higher volumes. Martell was the worst-performing of Pernod Ricard’s headline brands, closely followed by blended scotch Royal Salute, although the latter’s peer, Chivas Regal, was in low single-digit growth in fiscal ’25.
Special mention was reserved for the Bumbu rum mark, meanwhile, having delivered “very strong” sales across Europe and in Canada, while liqueur Kahlúa in the US and Olmeca tequila in Africa, Eastern Europe and China warranted namechecks.
The company took solace from its volumes over the most recent three quarters, which were all in growth. Although the current three months (July-September) are shaping up to be down in sales terms, Pernod Ricard said it expects “improving [sales] trends” from fiscal 2026 that will be “skewed toward H2”.
Forecasting that the next four years will be shaped by “transition and then [a] new era of volatility and opportunity”, the group estimates a +3%-to+6% range for sales increases in fiscal 2027, 2028 and 2029.
