Jameson sales grow by 3% despite 'challenging' global backdrop

Global sales of Irish Distillers' portfolio of whiskeys grew by 2% as strong growth in Asia, Africa, and Latin America helped to soften challenging market conditions in Europe and a challenging US environment. Picture: Aidan Crawley/Bloomberg

Global sales of Irish Distillers' portfolio of whiskeys grew by 2% as strong growth in Asia, Africa, and Latin America helped to soften challenging market conditions in Europe and a challenging US environment.

Jameson, the world’s best-selling Irish whiskey, saw net sales grow by 3% globally in the financial year ending in June 2025, with double-digit net sales growth in India, Japan, and South-East Asia, Nigeria, Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey. 

 "This is a testament to Jameson’s global appeal ... our full-year results for FY25 demonstrate resilience amid a challenging global macroeconomic backdrop," said Irish Distillers chief executive Nodjame Fouad. 

The distillery saw 2% growth across its entire Irish whiskey range. "Irish whiskey has long stood the test of time, and we remain confident in the future of the Irish whiskey industry and are committed to the continued sustainable growth of our portfolio," added Ms Fouad.

Irish Distillers' parent company, French drinks giant Pernod Ricard, reported a 3% fall in full-year 2025 organic sales which met forecasts, but warned of lower first quarter revenues amid tariff uncertainty and sliding sales in the United States and China.

The French company, which is the world's second-biggest Western spirits maker by revenue after Diageo, said that for its 2026 fiscal year, it expected improving sales trends skewed towards the second half and lower first quarter sales.

Pernod said distributor inventory adjustments would continue in the United States, while consumer demand would stay soft in China.

Pernod - which has launched a restructuring plan to cut costs - reiterated its guidance for between 3% and 6% annual organic sales growth for 2027-2029, along with annual organic margin expansion.

Sales reached €10.959bn in the 12 months to June 30, representing an organic decline of 3% which met analysts' expectations for a 3% fall.

Profit from recurring operations stood at €2.951bn, marking an organic decline of 0.8%.

Sales declined by 6% in the United States. Prolonged tariff uncertainty impacted distributor inventory levels at the year-end, with adjustments expected for its 2026 fiscal year, it added.

In China, Pernod's annual 2025 sales fell 21% as weak consumer demand and the looming conclusion of an anti-dumping investigation led to an overhang in distributor inventories.

Pernod added this meant it was forecasting a sharp decline in sales in China in the first quarter of 2026.

Additional reporting by Reuters