Pernod Ricard sales fell less than expected in the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year, with organic net sales down 0.9%, as reported on Thursday, October 15. The French maker of Martell cognac and Absolut vodka booked net sales of €2.234 billion for the quarter, according to the company’s release. A company-compiled analyst poll had pointed to a 1.7% drop, so the result came in better than forecast. The update gives investors an early read on global spirits demand.
Pernod Ricard Sales: The Numbers Behind the Quarter
On a reported basis, net sales fell 6.3% from €2.384 billion a year earlier, as RTTNews noted. The gap between the reported and organic figures reflects currency movements and other structural effects. Organic growth strips those out, which is why companies and analysts focus on it.
The headline decline was smaller than the market expected, but it is still a decline. Weak demand and inventory reductions at distributors in China and the United States weighed on the quarter, according to the Reuters report. Strong demand in India helped offset part of that weakness.
Where Pernod Ricard Sales Rose and Fell
Sales fell 10% in the United States and 25% in China, while they rose 19% in India, according to Reuters. Pernod Ricard said both the US and Chinese figures were affected by inventory adjustments, which it had expected. Excluding the US and China, sales in the rest of the world grew 4%.
Finance chief Mauve Croizat told analysts that inventory adjustments in China and the US would likely continue through the full year. In China, she said consumers were shifting toward private occasions rather than drinking out of home. That shift matters for premium spirits, which often depend on restaurants, bars and gifting.
Pernod Ricard Sales Outlook for the Year Ahead
The company kept its forecast for broadly stable organic net sales in the fiscal year that began on July 1. It also repeated its expectation that sales growth through fiscal 2029 will land near the lower end of its 3% to 6% target range. It described the environment as contrasted and uncertain, and said the current softness in the US market is part of that view.
Pernod Ricard plans to hold advertising and promotion spending at about 16% of net sales. It also expects to expand its organic operating margin through €1 billion of efficiency savings planned between fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2028. These targets tell investors the company is leaning on cost control while demand stays uneven.
Why the Pernod Ricard Sales Update Matters
Spirits makers have faced a prolonged downturn, so a smaller-than-expected decline stands out. Reuters also noted that Pernod Ricard held unsuccessful merger talks with Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman earlier this year. That context shows how much pressure the sector is under, though the reports do not tie it to this quarter’s result.
For European consumer-sector investors, the figures offer a read on pricing resilience and demand across three major markets. They also point to where growth is coming from, with India standing out against weakness in the United States and China. No job or workforce impacts were reported in connection with this update. See more in our Business section.
What to Watch Next
Pernod Ricard’s next scheduled events are its Annual General Meeting on November 20, 2026, and its first-half fiscal 2027 sales and results on February 18, 2027. Those updates will show whether the inventory adjustments in China and the US ease as the company expects. Until then, the first-quarter result suggests a business that is holding up better than forecast, while still facing a cautious year.