New Delhi, February 22 French liquor major Pernod Ricard has ruled out an IPO of its India business as part of its deleveraging strategy, even as it reported a 4 per cent rise in net sales in the country.
With growth accelerating to 8 per cent after excluding Imperial Blue, a brand that has now been disposed of and closed by the French Liquor major, it expects the momentum to continue in the second half of FY'26, its Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Alexandre Ricard said.
The company, which follows a July-to-June fiscal year, has achieved this growth despite a challenging first quarter, which was "severely impacted" by a very strong tax increase in Maharashtra, said Ricard on the post-earnings call last week.
"We expect to see this momentum continue over the second half (H2)," he said in his opening remarks.
The Pernod Ricard CEO highlighted that its international spirits portfolio is witnessing a "strong double-digit growth in India, reflecting the ongoing premiumization of the market.
India’s growth trajectory, Ricard said, is comfortably above the 6 per cent range and is providing confidence that the group can deliver average growth of 3 per cent to 6 per cent over the next three years.
“With India above that 6 per cent range, which it already is, yes, we can deliver, on average, over the next three years, a growth comprised between plus 3 and plus 6 per cent,” he stated.
Its CFO, Helene de Tissot, said the company intends to deleverage and bring its Net Debt to EBITDA Ratio below 3x by Fiscal Year 2029.
However, when asked about any possibility of IPO of its India business, the global management said it's not part of their deleveraging strategy.
"What I can tell you is that the intention that I shared earlier today, which is to leverage and to bring with a Net Debt EBITDA ratio below 3 by 29, does not include an assumption of a listing in India," said its CFO Helene de Tissot while replying to a query on the possibility of IPO.
India is the largest market for Pernod Ricard globally by volume, driven by strong sales of brands like Royal Stag, Blenders Pride, and premium imports such as Chivas Regal and Glenlivet. By value, India ranks second after the US, having surpassed China due to rapid premiumisation trends and contributing around 12-13 per cent to global revenues.
"We are expecting a strong H2 for India, which is obviously a very exciting market for us. Number 2 market, and there would be some acceleration in H2, because the momentum is great, and we have, as well, the stronger top-line ambition," said Tissot.
Its growth on strategic international brands notably Jameson, Ballantine’s and Absolut and mid-single-digit (MSD) growth on Royal Stag and Blenders Pride.
In the first half of FY26, Pernod Ricard sales were 1.61 billion euros, down 7.5 per cent on an organic basis and 18.7 per cent overall.
Pernod Ricard India, its local subsidiary here, is the leading alchoBev maker in the country by value.