中国需求回暖促人头马业绩反弹

It has been a long time coming, but Rémy Cointreau shareholders have finally found something to toast — shares of the Paris-based spirits maker jumped almost 9 per cent yesterday before trimming gains, marking the biggest intraday rise in six years.

虽然姗姗来迟，但人头马君度集团(Rémy Cointreau)的股东们最终还是等到了值得庆祝之事——这家总部位于巴黎的烈酒制造商的股价周三开盘跳涨近9%，随后涨幅收窄，盘中涨幅创下6年新高。

The shortlived surge came as the family-controlled group, famous for its Rémy Martin cognac, reported a 13.5 per cent increase in operating profit on an organic basis for its business year ending in March to 156m — about 5 per cent ahead of market expectations.

这次短暂的飙升出现在这家以人头马(Rémy Martin)干邑闻名的家族企业发布财报之后。在截止今年3月的一财年中，该集团的营业利润实现13.5%的有机增长，至1.56亿欧元，比市场预期高出约5%。

Signalling its growing optimism, it also said that it expected operating margins to rise to between 18 per cent and 20 per cent by 2020, up from the 16.2 per cent that it reported yesterday.

该集团还称，预计到2020年，营业利润率将从此次的16.2%升到18%至20%，显示该集团对前景日益乐观。

Rémy also said that it would increase its dividend payment this year more than 20 per cent to 1.53 from 1.27 in 2014. The situation presents a contrast to last year, when the group was struggling amid the Chinese government’s crackdown on lavish spending and gift-giving by officials — an abrupt policy change that punished revenue and led to a brutal decline in operating profit. Could it mark a turnround not only for Rémy but also for rivals?

人头马君度集团还表示，今年支付的股息将从2014年的每股1.27欧元增至1.53欧元，涨幅超过20%。这一局面与去年形成了鲜明对比——当时中国政府打击官员奢侈消费和送礼风，该集团陷入了困境。中国政府这一突然的政策变化打击了集团营收，并导致营业利润严重下滑。眼下的消息是否标志着不仅是人头马君度，其竞争对手也将迎来转机？

Stephen Rannekleiv, analyst at Rabobank, said: “Among the most obvious reasons for optimism is the return of Chinese demand. The first couple of months of 2015 have signified some positive momentum gains after Chinese new year. Cognac is also seeing positive trends in other emerging Asian markets, such as Vietnam and Malaysia.”

荷兰合作银行(Rabobank)分析师斯蒂芬•兰涅克莱夫(Stephen Rannekleiv)称：“一个非常明显的乐观理由是中国需求的回归。2015年头几个月已经预示了中国农历新年后的一些积极增长势头。人头马干邑在其他亚洲新兴市场也出现了积极的趋势，比如越南和马来西亚。”

Diageo, the world’s largest spirits group, suffered a 78 per cent drop in its premium baijiu business in its financial year ending June 2014. However, in the first nine months of its current financial year, net sales rose by 13 per cent in mainland China, driven by recovery in baijiu.

在截止2014年6月的那一财年中，世界最大酒业集团帝亚吉欧(Diageo)的高端白酒业务下滑了78%。但在当前财年的前9个月，在白酒销量复苏的驱动下，该集团在中国内地的净销售额上涨了13%。

One bright spot for Rémy has been its newfound managerial stability, with the arrival in September of chief executive Valérie Chapoulaud-Floquet, a former L’Oréal and Louis Vuitton executive.

人头马君度业绩的一个亮点在于，随着欧莱雅(L’Oréal)和路易威登(Louis Vuitton)前高管瓦莱丽•沙普洛-弗洛凯(Valérie Chapoulaud-Floquet)去年9月出任人头马君度首席执行官，该集团管理层重现稳定。

The company appears to have drawn a line under a turbulent period that began when Frédéric Pflanz, its then newly appointed CEO, resigned in January 2014, just as tumbling sales of cognac in China were hitting performance.

人头马似乎为自2014年1月以来的一个动荡时期画上了句号。当时刚上任不久的首席执行官弗雷德里克•普夫兰茨(Frédéric Pflanz)辞职，同时在中国的销售大幅下滑也开始打击集团业绩。

Cognac from its Rémy Martin division last year accounted for about 53 per cent of group revenue — but 73 per cent of operating profit.

去年，人头马干邑部门约占集团营业收入的53%，但却贡献了营业利润的73%。

The inevitable questions about leadership only grew louder when Patrick Piana, the much-respected chief executive of the Rémy Martin division, announced barely a month later that he was also leaving.

普夫兰茨辞职后不到一个月，备受尊敬的人头马干邑部门首席执行官帕特里克•皮亚纳(Patrick Piana)也宣布辞职，使得该集团领导层问题不可避免地进一步凸显。

Ms Chapoulaud-Floquet’s arrival at the group is already having a positive impact on operations. The better numbers yesterday came in part from cost-cutting and a significantly lower advertising budget.

沙普洛-弗洛凯的到来已经给集团的运营带来了积极的影响。周三发布的出色报表，部分源于成本削减和广告预算大幅调低。

A second case for optimism has come in the form of strong sales in the US, where the group has moved upmarket — and where its stable of liqueurs and spirits such as Cointreau, Mount Gay rum and Metaxa has gone down well.

第二个乐观的理由是美国的强劲销量。该集团在美国已进入高端市场，而且包括君度(Cointreau)、凯珊 (Mount Gay)朗姆酒和迈塔克瑟(Metaxa)在内的利口酒和烈酒一直卖得很好。

That performance has even pushed the US ahead of China in terms of Rémy’s biggest market by revenue. Growth in the US market also helped operating profit at the company’s liqueurs and spirits division jump 51.9 per cent on an organic basis .

这一表现甚至已使美国超过中国成为人头马君度最大的营收市场。美国市场的增长也帮助该集团的利口酒和烈酒部门营业利润实现51.9%的大幅有机增长。

The shares closed up 3.04 per cent at 66.05 yesterday in Paris.

该集团股票周三在巴黎股市收涨3.04%，收盘价为每股66.05欧元。