Pernod Plunges as China Extravagance Crackdown Softens Sales

Pernod Ricard SA, France’s biggest distiller, slumped in Paris trading after reporting “softness” in revenue over Chinese New Year, an important festival for sales of high-priced cognacs and whiskies.

Pernod shares fell 4.4 percent, the most since Sept. 5, 2011, after Pierre Coppere, who heads the Paris-based company’s Asian unit, said he expected Chinese sales in the nine months through March to show “double-digit growth, albeit at the lower end.” The maker of Martell cognac reported that first-half organic sales gained 18 percent in China.