(Recasts with CFO comments, shares, analyst)
By Dominique Vidalon
PARIS, April 21 (Reuters) - Pernod Ricard's third-quarter sales came in below expectations on Thursday as whiskey sales in China continued to suffer, in contrast to French rival Remy Cointreau which was buoyed this week by a rebound in Chinese cognac sales.
Pernod Ricard's shares fell 6.9 percent after it said sales rose only 1 percent on a like-for-like basis in the three months to the end of March and warned that revenue in China, its second biggest market, could fall up to 10 percent this year.
Demand in China during the Lunar New Year celebrations in February was soft with first-half trends continuing in the third quarter, Chief Financial Officer Gilles Bogaert told Reuters.
Scotch sales there fell 10 percent in the first nine months of Pernod's financial year, though Martell cognac sales were more resilient and Bogaert said it was hard to say when a significant rebound in demand in China would take place.
"There is an uncertainty on the timing and size of the rebound in China," Bogaert said.
Pernod Ricard's performance and view on the Chinese market appeared to conflict with outlooks from French rivals Remy Cointreau and Hennessy cognac owner LVMH, both of which have called a rebound in China.
Bernstein analysts pointed out that sales of Pernod's Martell cognac by wholesalers rose 1 percent by volume in the quarter whereas both Remy Martin and Hennessy have talked about mid-single digit growth during the period.
Sales of cognac and other luxury goods fell across the board in China following a government crackdown on corruption in 2014, hurting all spirits makers, though cognac sales now seem to be recovering faster than whiskey.
Bogaert said rivals had a worse performance last year than Pernod Ricard and so the year-on-year growth comparisons were more favourable for them this time round.
Pernod also shipped spirits to China ahead of the Lunar New Year earlier this year.
Overall, the company that also owns Absolut vodka and Jameson whiskey posted sales of 1.855 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in the third quarter, up 1.0 percent on a like-for-like basis and down from 4 percent growth in the second quarter.
It was also below the average of analysts' estimates of 1.3 percent growth in a Reuters poll.
Pernod kept its target for underlying operating profit growth of 1-3 percent for the full year to June 30.
In the United States, the world's biggest spirits market, Pernod's nine-month sales rose 7 percent, driven by Jameson sales. Bogaert predicted sales in the United States, where it makes 17 percent of revenue, would rise 3-4 percent this year. ($1 = 0.8859 euros) (Additional reporting by Pascale Denis; editing by James Regan and David Clarke)