The new boss of Rémy Cointreau, Valérie Chapoulaud-Floquet, said on Thursday that affluent Chinese consumers remained a key market after problems in the country hit the profits of the French spirits company. A Chinese crackdown on corporate gift-giving hurt demand for Rémy Cointreau’s premium cognac, contributing to a fall of almost 15 per cent in first-half operating profit.

However, the decline was not as bad as analysts had feared. Rémy Cointreau said it still expected growth in full-year sales and operating profit. Analysts took the view that the glass was half full rather than half empty and Rémy shares rose 2.2 per cent by 1pm.

Operating profit for the six months to September 30th reached €102.1 million, down 14.6 per cent from a year ago but above analysts’ expectations of €89 million. – (Reuters)