Pernod Ricard Q3 sales weaker-than-expected
Drinks maker Pernod Ricard said on Thursday that Q3 sales had come in weaker than expected as both a late Easter and a Chinese duty-free block weighed on sales.
Pernod Ricard said organic sales fell 3% to €2.27bn in Q3, principally due to duty-free sales being blocked in China as part of anti-dumping measures, as well as a wider economic slowdown and trade tariffs on European brandy that were implemented in response to new EU import duties on Chinese electric vehicles.
Chinese sales volumes were down 5% in the quarter, but Pernod Ricard also said sales had declined in Germany and Spain throughout the period.
Over in the US, Q3 sales got a boost from wholesalers stocking up ahead of Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcements, up 2% year-on-year. However, Pernod Ricard expects this to reverse in Q4. As part of an effort to get ahead of tariff impacts, Pernod Ricard said it will make targeted price increases, cost savings and more efficient promotions.
Looking ahead, Pernod Ricard left its FY guidance for low single-digit sales declines unchanged but cautioned that the global macroeconomic environment remained fluid.
As of 1025 BST, Pernod Ricard shares were down 0.11% at €92.76 each.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com