Pernod Ricard celebrates record sales

For drinks group Pernod Ricard, the Covid crisis seems to be entirely in the past. Thanks to the United States and China, the company posted better-than-expected figures and surpassed its pre-pandemic levels.

“Emerging stronger from the crisis”

The spirits group, known for brands such as Absolut, Havana Club, Jameson, Martell, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët, was able to boost sales by almost 5 % to 8.8 billion euros in its 2020-2021 financial year. Excluding exchange rate effects, organic growth was even close to 10 %. According to the group, this means that it is already doing better than it did in 2019. Net profit even tripled, although this was partly due to one-off factors.

Pernod Ricard set record figures in the US and China, particularly: Covid measures eased at a somewhat faster pace in these markets. In Europe, growth was slightly more modest at around 4 %. The drinks producer recognises that the transformation strategy launched in 2018 is yielding results: Pernod Ricard is investing in priority brands and markets, is betting more heavily on e-commerce and is accelerating its sustainability strategy.

Consequently, CEO Alexandre Ricard is confident that his company’s strong sales momentum should continue into the 2021-2022 financial year, particularly in a very dynamic first quarter. “Thanks to our solid foundation, our teams and our brand portfolio, we will emerge stronger from this crisis.”