French wines and spirits maker The Rémy Cointreau Group has generated €500.7m sales in the first half of the year (April-September), a decline by 5.9% from the same period last year.
The fall was steep in the first quarter at 9% but recovered in the second to 3.2%.
Remy's product portfolio includes the Rémy Martin and Louis XIII cognacs, the Cointreau and Passoa liqueurs, and the Metaxa, Mount Gay, St-Rémy, Bruichladdich and The Botanist spirits.
Introduction of a 'strategic plan' in Asia-Pacific and cautious wholesalers in China have led to decreased sales in the region, overshadowing the good performance in the Americas and EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa).
Rémy's strategic plan in Asia-Pacific included improved product mix and adaptation of the distribution network in China. The situation in China is showing gradual improvement, the winemaker said.
"In the period to end September, EMEA posted healthy organic growth, driven by the expansion strategy in Africa, a strong momentum in Central Europe and a slight improvement in Western Europe.
"The stability of the Americas region and decline in Asia-Pacific were principally the result of technical factors and the continued caution of wholesalers in China," it added in a statement.
The technical factors that Remy attributes its sales decline to are the exit of VS Cognac, high comparables for Cointreau and the end of the champagne brands distribution contract in the US, changes in distributors in certain markets and adaptation of the distribution network in China.
Remy Martin fell by 3.1% and the Liqueurs & Spirits division declined by 8.3%.
The Partner Brands unit decreased by 12.6% due to the termination of the distribution contract for the champagne brands, Piper Heidsieck and Charles Heidsieck, in the US.
For the year ended March 2015, Remy posted sales of €965.1m.
