Chivas owner Pernod Ricard sees sales rise 3%

Chivas Brothers parent group Pernod Ricard today reported a 3 per cent rise in organic first-quarter sales as strong demand in the US helped to offset “difficult” trading in China.

The Chivas Brothers bottling facility in Paisley. Picture: John Devlin

The firm, which owns brands including The Glenlivet and Ballantine’s, said sales for the quarter came in at €2.2 billion (£1.6bn), with takings in the Americas up 6 per cent and European sales 3 per cent higher.

Chairman and chief executive Alexandre Ricard said: “The beginning of the financial year is consistent with our scenario of continued gradual improvement in sales in a contrasted environment.

“We are aiming for 1 to 3 per cent organic growth in profit from recurring operations for the full year and we expect a positive but volatile foreign exchange impact. We continue to implement our long-term growth strategy, while increasing investments behind our priority brands and innovations and remaining very disciplined on costs and pricing.”