Rémy Cointreau’s heavy exposure to a slowing Chinese market and a continuing reliance on cognac sales have harmed its financial performance – resulting in a 14.6 per cent like-for-like fall in half-year operating profit.
The Paris-based maker of Rémy Martin cognac said its operating profit in the six months to September 30 stood at €102.1m, down from €132.7m during the same period last year. However, the figure was broadly in line with the €104m forecast by Bernstein Research. At a group level, Remy’s operating margin was 21.6 per cent compared with 23.8 per cent a year earlier.
At its all-important Rémy Martin division, operating profits were down 27.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis, to €78m, over the half-year period. The operating margin was also down, to 28.2 per cent on a reported basis, compared with 35.5 per cent during the period a year earlier.