French spirits maker Pernod Ricard has reported a 5% decline in second-quarter like-for-like sales, as weak consumer demand and destocking in the US and China continued to weigh.
The fall, however, in the second quarter was not as bad as the 7.6% contraction reported in the first quarter, thanks to improving dynamics in India and in global travel retail, the group said.
The second-biggest Western spirits group behind Diageo and the owner of Irish Distillers said it continued to expect its fiscal 2026 to be a transition year, with improving sales trends to be skewed towards the second half of the year.
The company's fiscal year started on July 1.
Pernod - which also owns Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka - reported sales of €5.25 billion in the six months to December 31, marking a like-for-like decline of 5.9%, broadly in line with the 5.7% expected by analysts according to a company-compiled consensus.
Operating profit fell 7.5% in the first half on a like-for-like basis. Analysts expected a 7.7% fall.
