PARIS (Reuters) -French spirits maker Pernod Ricard said it still expected sales to improve in its 2026 fiscal year after reporting a well-flagged 7.6% fall in first quarter sales, due to weak consumer demand and destocking in China and the United States.

Pernod, the world's second-biggest Western spirits group behind Diageo, said it continued to expect the improving sales trends to be skewed towards the second half of the year.

Pernod - which owns Martell cognac, Mumm champagne and Absolut vodka - reported sales of 2.384 billion euros ($2.78 billion) from July to September, marking a like-for-like decline of 7.6% broadly in line with a company-compiled analyst consensus for a decline of 7.1%.

Pernod Ricard's fiscal year started on July 1.

($1 = 0.8579 euros)