Organic sales growth was +3.6% compared to the full year 2016. The company reports that the acceleration was due to its ‘strategic international brands’ which were +4%, compared to static in FY16. Eleven of the 13 brands grew and nine improved their performance with Martell posting +6% and Absolut +2%.
The France-based multinational premium drinks company, says the US, China, eastern Europe and global travel retail, have driven the improvement. The Americas grow by +7%; Asia/Rest of theWorld +1% and Europe +3%
Fourth quarter (Q4) were up 3%in organic growth, to £1,962m
Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard said: “FY17 was a strong year, delivering profit from recurring operations (PRO) in line with guidance together with an excellent cash performance. These results demonstrate that the strategic direction the group adopted two years ago is delivering: growth is accelerating and diversifying through successful activation of our strategy.
“In FY18, we will continue to implement our roadmap, in particular focusing on digital, innovation and operational excellence. We are confident that we will continue improving our business performance. As a consequence, our guidance for FY18 is organic growth in PRO between +3% and +5%,” he said.
