Pernod Ricard Confident Over FY As Q1 Sales Beat Expectations

French spirits maker Pernod Ricard said on Thursday it was confident sales growth would remain dynamic through its 2023 fiscal year after it delivered a forecast-beating 11% sales growth in the first quarter helped by price increases in the United States, its top market.

Pernod, the world's second-biggest spirits group behind Diageo, said the strong start to the year also reflected strong demand in China and in India and a continued rebound in global travel retail.

"I am hugely encouraged by our start to the year," Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard said in a statement.

In an environment that remained volatile with high inflation, the war in Ukraine, and COVID-19 lockdowns in some Chinese cities, the group said it expected sales growth for the full year would remain "dynamic and broad-based, albeit moderating on a normalizing comparison basis,"

Pernod Ricard's fiscal year started on July 1.

For the first quarter ended Sept. 30, Pernod - which owns Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka - reported sales of 3.308 billion euros ($3.23 billion), a like-for-like rise of 11%, which came above market expectations for a 9.3% sales rise.

In China alone, sales rose 9% in the first quarter thanks strong mid-Autumn festival sales. The Martell cognac brand recorded double-digit sales growth during the quarter in China despite COVID restrictions.

Sales in global travel retail rose 24% in the first quarter as it continued its recovery outside of China and was on track to deliver profit back to pre-COVID levels, the group said.

($1 = 1.0234 euros)