Pernod Ricard, the French-listed drinks group that makes Jameson and Powers Irish whiskey, reported a decline in third-quarter sales on Thursday, missing analysts’ forecasts, amid a “challenging” and “very fluid” situation after US president Donald Trump’s tariff threats.
In a trading update on Thursday, the group said the situation remains “very volatile” after the Trump administration paused some so-called reciprocal tariffs to allow discussions to occur.
The White House – which unveiled a 20 per cent tariff on EU goods on April 2nd before Mr Trump subsequently reduced it to 10 per cent for 90 days in a chaotic about-turn – previously threatened a 200 per cent levy, specifically on European booze imports.
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The Irish whiskey industry has warned that tariffs could significantly damage the sector’s ability to compete on US shelves.
Pernod, which owns Midleton-based Irish Distillers, said net sales declined in the third quarter of its current financial year “in a global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, which remains challenging and very fluid with regards to tariffs”.
The group, which also makes Martell brandy and Absolut vodka among other big labels, said the results were affected by certain “difficulties”, specifically in India, where new customs clearance procedures came into effect.
Sales in the US increased by 2 per cent between January and March, the group’s third financial quarter, with Jameson’s performance “improving” after a drop-off in the first half of the year.
This was offset by a 31 per cent slump in global travel retail sales, a 7 per cent decline in European sales and a 6 per cent decline in Asia. The group said travel sales were hit “as expected” by the suspension of China’s duty-free regime for Cognac and, in some markets, the late-falling Easter holiday.
Despite “strong growth” in Jameson sales, Pernod’s performance in India was hampered by technical difficulties, including the “implementation of new customs clearance procedures”, it said.
In China, where the group’s sales dropped by 5 per cent, Jameson experienced “very strong growth” but the macroeconomic environment remains “challenging”.
Overall, the group said net sales were “resilient” in the face of “a global macroeconomic and geopolitical environment, which remains challenging and very fluid with regards to tariffs”.
Having slashed its full-year forecasts in February, Pernod said it affirmed its outlook for the year of a low, single-digit decline in sales.
“This outlook incorporates the impact of expected tariffs in China and in the US based on the information we have today,” it said.
