Pernod Ricard full-year profit rises 2 pct

French spirits maker Pernod Ricard reported full-year underlying profit growth of 2 per cent on Thursday, broadly in line with analysts' expectations, amid persistent weakness in China. The world's second-biggest spirits group behind Britain's Diageo said full-year 2013/14 sales fell a reported 7 per cent, hit by unfavourable currency effects and a 23 per cent slump in China. Like-for-like sales were stable. ’In this context, which remains challenging, we anticipate a gradual improvement in our sales growth, and we will increase the investment behind our brands and priority innovations in order to sustain long-term growth,’ Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer Alexandre Ricard said in a statement. Like rivals Diageo and Remy Cointreau, Pernod has been hit by a Chinese government crackdown on luxury gift-giving and personal spending by civil servants as well as by slowing economic growth in its second-biggest market, according to Reuters.