Pernod Ricard in good spirits as sales grow

SCOTLAND’S second biggest whisky producer said on Thurday that booming demand for premium products in developing markets lifted sales by 7 per cent in the nine months to the end of March.

French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, which owns Scottish brands such as Chivas Regal and The Glenlivet, reported sales excluding taxes of €6.3 billion (£5.1bn) in the first three quarters of its financial year, compared to €5.9bn for the same period a year earlier.

The Chivas Brothers owner said: “The very favourable underlying trends of the first half of the year continued into the third quarter, with buoyant, sustained growth of strategic brands and an increase in the relative significance of the premium portfolio.”

Sales in emerging markets jumped 17 per cent while revenues in the US and eastern Europe also grew, more than offsetting a small decline in western Europe.