LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Remy Cointreau reported positive annual sales on Thursday for the first time since 2023, offering a boost for CEO Franck Marilly, who has pledged a turnaround at the embattled French cognac maker.

The maker of Remy Martin cognac and Cointreau liqueur reported 0.2% organic growth in annual sales, narrowly avoiding a third consecutive annual decline but falling slightly short of analyst expectations.

Sales of cognac, Remy's core product for which demand has collapsed in recent years, also fell short of forecasts.

Marilly took over as CEO in June, promising to revive performance and make the French spirits company less vulnerable to economic cycles, even if it meant cutting cognac prices to grow volumes. He is set to lay out his strategy in detail in June.

The company has been hit by a series of crises, from soaring costs of living to tariffs in its main markets of the U.S. and China.

More recently, the Iran war has disrupted sales of luxury drinks in airports and threatens to further dent demand, as well as raise producers' costs for bottles, grain and more.

Cognac sales rose 15.5% in the fourth quarter, supported by strong performance in China, where Remy benefited from a "very favourable" comparison base a year earlier, the company said.

In the Americas, Remy said it recorded a "slight decline" though efforts to revive U.S. sales of the cheaper version of its Remy Martin cognac helped an improvement versus the third quarter.