PARIS, April 16 (Reuters) – Pernod Ricard, which is in talks to merge with U.S. rival Brown-Forman, reported a stronger-than-expected 0.1% rise in sales for the third quarter but warned the decline in tourism due to the war in Iran would hurt its travel retail business and impact full-year sales.
The second-biggest Western spirits group behind Diageo said it expected group organic net sales to decline by between 3% and 4% in fiscal year 2026.
The maker of Martell cognac and Absolut vodka reported sales of 1.95 billion euros ($2.30 billion) in the three months to March 31, a like-for-like rise of 0.1%.
This compared with average expectations of a 0.7% decline in a company-compiled poll of analysts.
The performance was an improvement from a 5% contraction in the second quarter as markets in India and global travel retail sales improved, offsetting persistent weakness in consumer demand in the United States and China.
The company also reaffirmed guidance of between 3% and 6% sales growth between 2027 and 2029 despite an industry-wide slump in alcohol demand.
($1 = 0.8467 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon. Editing by Dominique Patton)
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