Chivas owner Pernod Ricard sees sales rise 3%

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

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 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.”