Pernod Ricard ended the first half of fiscal 2021 with a decline in sales and profit, although he observed an improvement in the second quarter. Sales of the French wine and spirits producer stood at € 4.99 billion in the period, an organic drop of 3.9% from € 5.45 billion in the first fiscal half of 2020. Net profit reached instead 966 million euros, a decline of 6% on an annual basis.

Sales in the second quarter showed an organic decline of 2.4% to € 2.75 billion, a figure that was slightly up on the first quarter.

The company said the impact of the coronavirus pandemic affected commercial sales and travel retail in most regions. This was offset, however, by stronger growth in the Americas, particularly the United States, and in the specialty brand segments, which showed growth of 22% over the period.