PERNOD Ricard has toasted the impact of Chinese New Year as it reported a seven per cent rise in organic sales in the third quarter.
The owner of Paisley-based Chivas Brothers booked sales of €1.92 billion for the quarter.
The results included a strong showing for single malts. Speyside malt The Glenlivet saw net sales rise14 per cent and volumes by 12 per cent while Ballantine's saw net sales rise by four per cent and volumes by five per cent and Chivas Regal reported no change.
In China, the company reported "good" sales depletions thanks to Chinese New Year.
While one analyst said the celebrations "flattered" the Paris-based producer, Pernod signalled that conditions were improving in China, albeit trading was still difficult.
Premium spirit exporters have struggled in China, a key market for Scotch and Cognac, since the government introduced anti-extravagance measures in late 2012. The measures, designed to tackle corruption, curbed conspicuous gift-giving and entertaining in the corporate world.
Pernod said sales of Martell, its lead Cognac brand, grew by 13 per cent in China between December and January, compared with growth of five per cent in the period covering July to March.
Scotch whisky sales were down by five per cent in China from December to January. But this was a slower rate of decline compared with the eight per cent fall for first three quarters. Overall, sales in China were down three per cent for the year to date.
The results build on the progress noted by Pernod on China in February, when it said organic sales had fallen by six per cent in the first half on an organic basis.
Giles Bogaert, the group's managing director for finance, said: "In China, we have confirmed gradual improvement. Our year to date sales are down three per cent.
"We see some improving volumes in the market despite the macroeconomic slowdown and the continuation of the anti-extravagance campaign.
"Pernod Ricard in China had a good Chinese New Year depletions performance. We gained from market share and as you can see it puts us year to date to (the) end of March volume depletions up five per cent for Martell and down eight per for whisky.
"As a consequence, as of end of March, our net sales in China are down three per cent."
Pernod said organic sales had risen by two per cent to €6.5bn in the first nine months of the year, with the strength of the US dollar driving a six per cent rise in reported sales.
It expects to deliver full-year profit from recurring operations at €180m.
The company, which continues to invest heavily in ramping up its Scotch whisky capacity, flagged an organic sales rise of four per cent in Asia-Rest of the World. Boosted by Chinese New Year, sales for the territory were booked €2.7bn for the year to date.
The spirits giant noted an improving performance in the Americas - organic sales rising by three per cent to €1.7bn in the year to date - while organic sales in Europe were stable at €2.1bn.
Analyst Canaccord Genuity described the results as "robust", and raised its target price for Paris-based Pernod to €81 per share from €76 per share.
Alexandre Ricard, chairman and chief executive officer of Pernod Ricard, said: "Our sales growth to date at two per cent is solid and performs and confirms the gradual improvement we had announced in October, in an environment that remains challenging."
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