Absolut’s Hardships Plague Pernod in H1

Pernod Ricard's soft performance in fiscal 2014 (ended June) followed the company into a new fiscal year. Sales in the US were down 2% for the first half of fiscal 2015, ended December. Pernod attributes the decline to tough comparables -- shipments were up 10% at this time last year -- and the difficult circumstances plaguing its largest brand Absolut vodka. Jameson, Glenlivet and Martell all continued to make positive strides growing by 14%, 8% and 67%, per Nielsen data.