Remy Cointreau Fourth-Quarter Sales Double on Cognac in China

April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Remy Cointreau SA said sales doubled in the three months through March as France’s second- largest liquor company sold more cognac in China and recovered from a decline a year earlier.

Revenue excluding the impact of acquisitions and currency movements rose 100 percent in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, Paris-based Remy said today in a statement. Analysts at UBS AG predicted that so-called organic sales would increase by 41 percent. Full-year revenue advanced 13 percent to 807.8 million euros ($1.08 billion).

Sales of champagne and cognac plunged last year as consumers from Europe to the U.S. bought less pricy products and went to bars and restaurants less frequently during the global recession. LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, the market leader in France, said last week that sales at its wine and spirits unit rose 18 percent in the three-month period as U.S. distributors began to increase inventory levels, reversing five consecutive quarters of decline.

The full-year result is “a big beat versus our top-end estimates,” Simon Hales, an analyst at Evolution Securities Ltd., said in a note to clients. “Encouragingly, the higher- margin Asian business was the main driver in the quarter,” said Hales, who has a “buy” rating on the shares.

Sales of cognac increased 28 percent over the full year, boosted by the performance of Remy Martin and “the commercial dynamism in China,” the company said. Revenue from liqueurs and spirits rose 4.9 percent, while champagne fell 24 percent.

U.S. Stabilizes

Remy is benefitting from “stabilization in U.S. spirits” and strong Asia sales, Melissa Earlam, an analyst at UBS AG in London, said in a note before the statement. She has a “neutral” recommendation on the shares.

“With substantially rebalanced geographic markets, Rémy Cointreau can now focus its efforts on developing its key brands in the manner they merit, albeit in an economic climate that one would hope improves,” Chief Executive Officer Jean-Marie Laborde said in the statement.