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Pernod Ricard has cut its sales guidance because of uncertainty over tariffs and a slowdown in China, where government anti-dumping measures have hit demand for its cognac brand Martell.
The French spirits group, whose brands also include Absolut Vodka and Havana Club rum, said it was expecting a “low single-digit” fall in organic sales this year, having previously forecast a return to growth.
Pernod Ricard also forecast sales would grow by 3-6 per cent between 2027 and 2029, down from previous guidance of 4-7 per cent, as it warned that “extraordinary trade tensions” were weighing on performance.
The company said organic sales fell 4 per cent in the six months to December, in line with analyst expectations, with performances in some emerging markets offsetting the “declining but improving US” and a “very weak China”.
US President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada and China have left companies scrambling to prepare. Spirits group Diageo on Tuesday scrapped its own sales growth target, blaming uncertainty over US tariffs and weak demand in key markets.
Pernod said it expected its performance in 2026 to be “conditional on the challenges posed by the global tariff environment”.
Sales in China fell 25 per cent in its first half, driven by falling sales of Martell, following “ongoing challenging macroeconomic environment and weak consumer demand”, the company said on Thursday.
Last October, China announced it would impose anti-dumping measures on imports of cognac from France, in retaliation against the EU imposing higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.
Pernod, whose brands also include Jameson whiskey, said the situation for cognac had “further deteriorated” following the suspension of the duty-free regime on cognac because of the anti-dumping measures, which began in December.
