Pernod Ricard, which reported a 3.9 per cent decline in global sales due to weakness in markets including the US and China, gained market share in India, where it saw strong momentum reflecting underlying consumer demand and growing premiumisation trends.
The company, which owns brands such as Absolut, Jameson, Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s and Glenlivet, said it sees “two cherries on the cake” for its India business, the recently implemented India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the prospect of a similar trade pact between India and the European Union, which is expected to provide an additional boost to growth.
“All the lights are green from a business point of view in India. It is a buoyant market. It is growing, not just for us, the market itself, the country itself,” said its Chairman and CEO Alexandre Ricard during an earnings call.
Pernod Ricard’s financial year runs from July 1 to June 30. Its global net sales for the recently concluded fiscal stood at 9.40 billion euros.
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On the long-pending India listing plan, Ricard said the board continues to assess the strategic rationale for an IPO, though no decision has been taken so far.“On India, yes, the board continues to discuss the India IPO opportunity. Again, it is a question of the strategic opportunity it may represent in terms of shareholder value creation, and they are weighing the strategic rationale, the pros and cons in terms of these kind of situations. It is not an obvious yes or no,” said Ricard.
He further said, “…we are taking some legal preparatory steps in order to maintain the flexibility around the India IPO and keep our options open. At this stage, we are still at discussion level at board,” he added.
Along with its global brands, Pernod Ricard owns the Seagram portfolio in India, which includes Royal Stag, Blenders Pride, 100 Pipers, Longitude 77 and the new brand ‘Xclamat!on’. It is the largest alcoBev player in the Indian market.
Ricard acknowledged that “India is now our second largest market in terms of sales” after the US.
“India is a clear growth driver for last year, for this year, for next year, for the foreseeable future, for the medium-long term. What’s happening in India is quite phenomenal,” Ricard said.
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Growth was driven by double-digit performance from its strategic international brands, led by Jameson, now the number one imported premium spirit brand in the country. Local brands such as Royal Stag, now the world’s largest-selling whisky by volume, with around 32 million cases sold, and Blender’s Pride also continued to gain steadily, he said.
Last year, Pernod Ricard sold its ‘Imperial Blue’ business to Tilaknagar Industries Ltd for a lump-sum consideration of Rs 3,442 crore. Excluding Imperial Blue, sales growth in the Indian market was over 9 per cent in FY26.
Ricard said the divestment of its mass-market Imperial Blue business had also helped improve margins.
On the India-UK Free Trade Agreement, which took effect on July 15, Ricard said it is expected to further support performance through new Scotch offerings and accelerated innovation.
“It is difficult to share with you some very specific insights as to how we are leveraging this FTA to accelerate our performance in India, just because it’s competitive and sensitive information. That being said, you should not be surprised if we were to introduce new propositions coming from the UK into India around the Scotch. You should not be surprised to see some degree of acceleration around innovation,” he said.
Through its subsidiary Chivas Brothers, a Scotch whisky firm, Pernod Ricard owns brands including Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s, The Glenlivet and Royal Salute.