27 August 2026
If you are covering Pernod Ricard's latest financial results, please find below a comment from Chris Beckett, consumer staples analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
"While Pernod’s full year results were not great in absolute terms, they were at least better than expected. Sales were down 4%, while adjusted profits also fell by 5%. USA and China continued to see weakness, while the Middle East also suffered as a result of the ongoing conflict and a drop in tourism levels. Given things have transitioned to more of a holding pattern in that region now, it will be interesting to see how sales bounce back and if tourist levels recover. The rest of the world did okay in comparison.
“As was expected, Pernod has cut its guidance, mirroring what is going on with peers in the sector. Medium term organic sales growth is now expected at the low end of 3-6%. This is a more realistic guide and broadly in line with what Diageo has been saying. Pernod should be taking advantage of Diageo’s struggles and the fact it is in the midst of a multi-year turnaround. Demographic trends remain attractive in the long-term, but short-term affordability issues amongst consumers still exist. But Pernod is in a good place to innovate on both pricing and product line up, so should look to progress while others reassess their portfolio.
“Pernod does have a credible strategy in place, and right now has a very low and undemanding valuation. For investors, this is now a value play, and an attractive looking one at that.”
