LVMH spirits sales fall 15% in H1
Hennessy owner LVMH saw spirits sales plunge by 15% in the first half of 2025 as Cognac continued to struggle in China and the US.
The wine and spirits arm of French conglomerate LVMH, Moët Hennessy, declined by 7% in organic sales to €2.58 billion (US$3bn) for the first six months of 2025.
Profit from recurring operations for wine and spirits plunged by 33% to €524 million (US$614.9m) during the first half of the year.
Wine and spirits sales in the second quarter (Q2) fell by 4%, a slight improvement on the previous three months (down by 9%).
The division was impacted by continued ‘weak’ demand for Hennessy Cognac in the China and the US, which was hit by uncertainties due to trade tensions.
Earlier this month, China’s Ministry of Commerce ended its anti-dumping investigation into EU brandy imports, providing large Cognac makers with partial relief, including Hennessy.
Spirits revenue decreased by 15% to €1.19bn (US$1.39bn) during the first six months of this year, with revenue of €562m (US$659.5m) in Q2 and €629m (US$738m) in Q1. First-quarter spirits sales plummeted by 17%, following a full-year drop of 14%.
Cognac sales volumes reached 37.1m bottles in the first half of 2025, down from 40.7m year on year. Volumes of ‘other spirits’ reached 9.6m bottles over the period, down from 10.2m in the first six months of 2024.
Wine and Champagne fared better during the first half of 2025 with a 2% increase to €1.39bn (US$1.63bn).
Hennessy is the biggest brand in LVMH’s spirits portfolio and the world’s leading Cognac with nine-litre case sales of 6.3m in 2024 (down by 2.9%), according to The Brand Champions 2025 report.
The group’s portfolio also includes Scotch whiskies Glenmorangie and Ardbeg, Belvedere vodka, Eminente rum, Volcan de mi Tierra Tequila, and American whiskeys Woodinville and SirDavis.
‘Large-scale initiatives’
Moët Hennessy noted that the first half of 2025 experienced the same trends as 2024, including the acceleration of trade tensions in the US and China.
As such, the group said it had embarked on ‘large-scale initiatives’ during the first half while maintaining cost control. Among these efforts was a new Glenmorangie campaign with actor Harrison Ford, the promotion of SirDavis whiskey on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter tour, and new launches for Belvedere (Dirty Brew) and Eminente (Carta Oro).
In its outlook for the future, Moët Hennessy said it would ‘continue to invest in the desirability of their products and make the necessary decisions to bolster their value strategy’.
Moët Hennessy recently faced accusations of sexual harassment and unfair dismissal in a lawsuit from a former chief of staff.
The wine and spirits arm is the smallest business division for LVMH, which saw total first-half sales drop by 3% to €39.8bn (US$45.6bn).
The Paris-based conglomerate recorded a 7% organic sales decline for fashion and leather goods, while its perfume and cosmetics, and watches and jewellery divisions were stagnant.
The only part of the business to grow was selective retailing (up 2%), which includes travel retailer DFS.
The company has also stayed silent on reports it will slash its workforce by 10% due to poor sales results.
The first-half results were announced just a day before fellow French firm Rémy Cointreau’s first-quarter sales, which rose by 5.7%.
Related news
LVMH spirits sales drop 17% in Q1
