Pernod Ricard eyes stable sales in Asia in 2017 full year -slides

PARIS (Reuters) - French drinks group Pernod Ricard said that the 2016/2017 financial year would be a stable one regarding sales in Asia, with its second-largest market in India facing a temporary slowdown due to adverse market conditions.

On the other hand, its third-largest market in China had a positive outlook for Martell cognac, added Pernod on Monday.

Pernod, which is the world's second largest spirits group behind Diageo , made the forecasts in slides released on its website.

India, which accounts for about 10 percent of group revenue, has been a key growth area, driven by local whisky brands such as Blender's Pride and Royal Stag.

 

But a government ban on high-value bank notes held back local consumption in the second and third quarter and sales growth in India slowed to 1 percent in the nine months to March 31, down from 12 percent in the 2015-16 full year [nL8N1HS1FC]

Pernod Ricard's sales in Asia were flat in the nine months to March 31.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)