Rémy Cointreau warns of 50% sales fall this year

French drinks group Rémy Cointreau has warned that its sales for the first three months of 2020 will be down by 50% due to the disruption caused by coronavirus lockdowns worldwide.

The group made €1,024.8 million in sales in the 2019/20 financial year, down 9.0% on from the previous year.

Group brands saw a moderate decline (down 4.0%) due to what the company called a “complex public health environment,” while sales of Partner Brands were down 68.5% as a result of the Group’s “voluntary withdrawal” from distribution contracts in Europe and the United States.

Rémy Cointreau reported a 24% fall in sales in the three months to 31 March 2020, mostly due to the closure of bars and restaurants and a reduction in international travel brought on by governments’ attempts to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The company said it anticipates wholesalers’ destocking in China, as well as a “sharp slowdown” in European and American markets due to the coronavirus crisis, which the group said is bound to “severely impact” sales during the first quarter of the 2020/21 financial year.

The group forecasts organic sales to decline by around 50% to 55% during the first quarter.