By Dominique Vidalon and Alessandro Parodi
(Reuters) -French spirits maker Remy Cointreau on Friday raised its full-year 2025/26 profit outlook, citing a lower-than-anticipated blow to its business from U.S. tariffs of 15% agreed last month on European Union imports.
Sales have slumped in Remy Cointreau’s key U.S. and Chinese markets in recent years, forcing the company into multiple guidance downgrades and to scrap medium-term sales targets. It said in June, though, that the worst was over.
Remy said on Friday it now expects a net impact of 20 million euros ($23.41 million) from U.S. tariffs on its current operating profit for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, down from 35 million it estimated previously.
The estimated hit from Chinese tariffs of 10 million euros remained unchanged and Remy now expects an overall blow from global tariffs of 30 million euros, down from 45 million it estimated previously.
As a result, the maker of Remy Martin cognac now expects an organic percentage decline in full-year 2025-2026 current operating profit of mid-single-digit, an improvement from the mid-to high-single-digits percentage it previously anticipated.
The company makes around 70% of its sales from cognac, mostly in the U.S. and China, leaving it more exposed to tariffs and economic downturns than more diversified rivals.
On Thursday, rival Pernod Ricard also revised down to 80 million euros its annualised ($93.66 million) impact from tariffs imposed by the United States and China, against 200 million previously.
($1 = 0.8542 euros)
(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Tomasz Janowski)
