Pernod Ricard said third-quarter sales rose more than analysts estimated after consumers continued to buy more expensive spirits and demand increased in emerging markets.

So-called organic revenue, which exclude the effect of acquisitions, disposals and currency fluctuations, rose 3 per cent in the three months through March 31st, the company said today in a statement.

The median estimate of 11 analysts was for a 0.4 per cent increase in sales. Sales on the same basis rose 9 per cent in the first nine months.

Sales of Jameson grew by 17 per cent in the first nine months of the year. The brand remained a driver of growth in the US, increasing sales by 23 per cent in the region. Jameson also performed well in Canada, where it achieved double digit growth, and in European countries, including Russia and Ukraine.

"Buoyant" growth of Pernod's most important brands, including Martell cognac, and increased "relative significance" of its premium spirits helped boost sales in the third quarter, Pernod said, even as the effect of an earlier Chinese New Year and destocking in France after a tax increase at the start of the year restrained sales.

Excluding those effects, third-quarter organic growth would have been 8 per cent.

Total sales rose to €1.7 billion in the quarter, the Paris-based company said.

"We are very pleased with the group's performance over the first nine months, on the back of which we can confirm our targets for the current financial year," Pierre Pringuet, the company's chief executive officer, said. 

Additional reporting: Bloomberg