Leading drinks company Rémy Cointreau has reported first-half sales for its 2025-26 financial year, with the figure reaching €489.6 million, down -8.3% year-on-year on a reported basis and -4.2% in organic terms.
The sharper decline in reported sales was mainly due to currency exchange related to the US Dollar and Chinese Yuan. The group has also lowered its expectations for the full year (see below).
Q2 sales fell -11% year-on-year on an organic basis, which the company said reflected “a persistently challenging economic environment”.
Asia Pacific sales in the half fell -14.8%, reflecting a tough China market environment, unfavourable calendar effects related to the Mid-Autumn Festival, alongside what the company called “lingering disruptions in travel retail”.
The latter relates largely to the suspension of Cognac imports to the China duty-free market since December 2024, resolved since July 2025, with shipments now resuming.
Travel retail sales overall fell -1.5 points year-on-year in Q2 and -3 points in H1. In China alone travel retail dipped -0.7 basis points in Q2 and -1.4% in H1. Rémy Cointreau noted that the disruption to travel retail was now “on a path to normalisation”.
Sales in the Americas (all channels) climbed +12.8% year-on-year, with Cognac sales improving over two consecutive quarters. In EMEA, sales fell -9.2% on the same period last year, and were affected by “fierce promotional pressures and sluggish overall consumption”.
By key category, Cognac sales fell -12.1% year-on-year in the half with Liqueurs & Spirits up slightly (+0.5%).
As noted above, Rémy Cointreau has downgraded its outlook for the full financial year, based on the weak performance of the China market and a slower than expected rebound in the USA.
The company said it expects organic sales growth to range between stable and low single-digits, having previously been anticipated to grow by mid single-digits. Current operating profit is now forecast to decline (in organic terms) by low single-digits to mid-teens (versus a mid single-digit decline previously). ✈
