The channel saw declines of 31% driven by suspension of cognac in Chinese travel retail sites.
Outside of the duty-free sector, China saw 5% declines driven by a sharp decline in Martell sales as tariffs on the cognac category persist in the region.
Europe also saw declines of 7%, a result of declines in Germany and a soft performance in Spain which the company attributed to the later Easter timing.
However, in the face of trading uncertainties in the US, the market has remained broadly stable for the group with the region seeing 2% growth driven by improving performances from Jameson and Absolut.
In the fiscal year to date, the group sales have experienced an organic decline of 4%.
Volumes in the period grew by 1% while the price/mix effect declined by 5% driven by a “strongly negative market mix”.
