In a statement published yesterday, Pernod Ricard updated its original guidance on the Covid-19 pandemic which it had posted on 13 February.

The company had initially expected that the virus could cause a 2% fall in its FY2020 sales.

However, it said that there had now been “significant evolution” with the disease now causing disruption in the Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas.

To fight the outbreak, the drinks group has converted a number of its production sites to the production of hand sanitiser and has also donated pure alcohol to sanitiser producers to help ease shortages.

The group now expects that its organic profit from recurring operations will fall by 20% this year.

In China, it has conducted very limited business in February and March, and is predicting a slow recovery from April.

The travel retail sector has been particularly hard hit, with a predicted 80% decline in business from February to the end of June 2020.

In other markets, Pernod Ricard is expecting a 10% reduction in performance in the off-trade from mid-March to the end of June.

The on-trade, however, has effectively shut down, with no sales from mid-March to the end of June as outlets have closed.

The group said that the health and safety of its employees and business partners remains its primary concern.

The drinks group repaid a bond of €850m plus interest on 23 March. It’s next significant bond redemption of US$1 billion is due in April 2020.

Pernod Ricard says it has €3.4 billion of credit lines secured with banks, of which it has drawn €0.3 billion.

Alexandre Ricard, chairman and chief executive officer, said that while the situation had “very significantly deteriorated” since the company’s last statement, he was confident in Pernod Ricard’s “ability to bounce back and its growth potential”.

He added: “Our business model and strategy are resilient. Our three-year plan Transform & Accelerate has been very successful, as demonstrated by the FY19 and H1 FY20 results, and will continue to positively impact the business as we move through the Covid-19 crisis.

“We are encouraged to see that, thanks to the implementation of strong measures, China appears to be starting to make a gradual recovery. While we cannot predict the duration and extent of the impact, we remain confident in our strategy. Our priority is to ensure the health and safety of our employees and business partners.

“I would like to praise the exemplary behaviour of our teams during this very difficult time. With the revised assumptions linked to Covid-19, we are providing guidance of an organic decline in Profit from Recurring Operations for full-year FY20 of c. -20%. We are staying the strategic course while implementing a comprehensive action plan to mitigate costs.”

保乐力加大幅削减盈利预期

法国酒饮巨头保乐力加(Pernod Ricard)宣布，由于新冠疫情将对业务产生“广泛影响”，预计2020财年营业利润将下降20%。

在3月25日发表的一份声明中，保乐力加更新了其于2月13日发布的对于新冠疫情发展的原始预期。其最初预计病毒可能导致其2020财年销售额下降2%。

但是，该集团称目前已经发生“显著的演变”，这种疾病已经导致亚太地区、欧洲和美洲市场的破坏。

为了应对疫情，该集团已将其许多生产场所改成消毒剂生产地，并且还向消毒剂生产商捐助纯酒精以缓解短缺。

该集团预计，本财年来自经常性业务的有机利润将下降20%。

在中国，其在2-3月的业务量非常有限，预计从4月开始缓慢复苏。

旅游零售业受到的打击尤其严重，从2月到6月底，业务预计将下降80%。

在其他市场，预计从3月中旬到6月底，非即饮渠道的收益将下降10%。即饮渠道实际上已经关闭，因为销售网点关门停业，3月中旬至6月底没有销量。

保乐力加表示，其员工和业务合作伙伴的健康与安全仍然是其首要关注的问题。

董事长兼首席执行官Alexandre Ricard表示，自公司上次发表声明以来，情况“已大大恶化”，但他对保乐力加的“反弹能力和增长潜力”充满信心。

“我们的业务模式和战略极具弹性。正如2019财年和2020上半财年的业绩所表明的那样，我们的三年 ‘转型与加速’计划非常成功，经过新冠疫情危机之后，将继续对业务产生积极影响。” 他补充说。

“令我们感到鼓舞的是，由于采取了强有力的措施，中国市场似乎已经开始逐步复苏。尽管我们无法预测疫情影响的持续时间和程度，但我们对我们的战略仍然充满信心。我们的首要任务是确保员工和业务合作伙伴的健康与安全。”

“在这个非常困难的时期，我想赞扬我们团队的模范行为。根据疫情发展的推断，我们将2020财年全年经常性运营利润预期下调了20%。我们将在实施全面行动计划以降低成本的同时，继续保持原有的战略路线。”

原载于The Drinks Business
编译：华夏酒报记者徐菲远