Reported net sales grew 13% to €12.13 billion (US$13.2bn) in the year ending 30 June, with favourable foreign exchange impact mostly from USD appreciation versus EUR.
Alexandre Ricard, chairman and chief executive officer, said: “Pernod Ricard delivered a strong full-year performance, achieving double-digit broad based growth in sales and earnings despite a volatile environment.
“The relevance of our growth strategy, the desirability of our brands and the commitment and agility of our teams enabled us to gain share in most markets and strengthen pricing,” Ricard added.
The group’s strategic international brands grew by 11%, with strong momentum led by Scotch, Martell, Jameson and Absolut. Strategic local brands grew 10% led by Seagram’s Indian whiskies and Olmeca.
Speciality brands rose 8% with development led by Lillet, Aberlour, Malfy and the Spot Range. Strategic wines grew 2%, with an “overall soft performance” driven by Jacob’s Creek and Campo Viejo in the UK and North America.
“Our transformational journey continues to accelerate through the deployment of tech and data-powered organisational, sales and marketing initiatives,” added Ricard. “We are making solid progress on our sustainability and responsibility roadmap to 2030.”
The Americas grew by 2%, with dynamic growth in LATAM led by Mexico and low-single digit growth in North America. After a ‘high comparison basis’ in quarter one, sales in the US were stagnant, with a positive outlook for the full year.
The Asia and rest-of-the-world region climbed by 17% with “excellent broad-based growth led by India, Travel Retail recovery, China and Turkey," the firm said.
The group saw “solid” performance in Japan, South Korea and “dynamic rebound” in Southeast Asia.
A challenging macroeconomic environment in China lead to declining net sales in the first quarter.
Europe saw sales rise 8%, with strong resilience and pricing with growth led by Spain, Germany and rebound in Travel Retail.