* Pernod Q1 sales 1.88 bln euros, vs Reuters poll 1.80 bln
* Pernod Q1 comparable sales up 10%, vs Reuters poll 4.8%
* Remy Cointreau H1 comparable sales in line with forecasts
* Pernod, Diageo shares up 4-5%, Remy down 1.8%
By Astrid Wendlandt
PARIS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - French drinks group Pernod Ricard enjoyed a 10 percent jump in underlying sales in the last quarter, the maker of Absolut vodka and Mumm champagne said on Thursday, helped by a pick-up in demand in the United States and strong growth spots in emerging markets.
Both in Russia, where demand had rebound, and in China, comparable sales growth reached more than 30 percent in the three months to Sept.30, the company's fiscal first quarter, Chief Financial Officer Gilles Bogaert told Reuters.
Bogaert said October trading was in line with the previous quarter's trends.
Meanwhile spirits and champagne group Remy Cointreau said its sales rose an underlying 11.3 percent in the six months to end-September with strong growth in Asia, a pick-up in the United States and some good performances in Europe.
Pernod and Remy's updates, combined with figures from LVMH and Diageo earlier this month, helped cement the view that drinks markets have seen strong demand in Asia and Latin America, an albeit slow recovery in North America and more patchy growth in Europe.
Pernod said business was resilient in Germany and France but remained sluggish in Spain, Greece and Britain, echoing similar comments made by Diageo and LVMH earlier this month.
LVMH, owner of the world's biggest champagne maker Moet & Chandon, said last week its champagne volumes had jumped 20 percent and Hennessy cognac volumes had risen 12 percent in the nine months to Sept. 30, with particularly strong sales in China.
Shares in Pernod were up 5.4 percent at 64.86 euros following its trading update on Thursday, having gained around 3 percent so far this year.
Remy Cointreau shares were down 1.8 percent at 49.77 euros on Thursday, having risen strongly in recent weeks and gained 42 percent since Jan. 1, as the first-half sales figures were only in line with expectations, analysts said.
LVMH shares were up 1.7 percent at 110.75 euros, extending gains so far this year to nearly 40 percent, while Diageo was up 4 percent at 1,208 pence.
PERNOD COULD DIVEST FURTHER
Pernod, the world's second biggest spirits company behind Diageo, also said on Thursday it planned to keep its advertising spend at least stable compared with last year.
It does not rule out selling more brands even though it has completed its 1 billion-euro disposal programme following its acquisition of the Absolut vodka business.
Earlier this month Pernod sold its New Zealand wine brand Lindauer and related assets for 47 million euros as well as its Renault cognac brand for 10 million euros.
"We did not sell them (the two brands) for the cash but because it made sense strategically," Chief Financial Officer Gilles Bogaert told Reuters.
"It is not excluded that we make other changes to our brand portfolio."
Nevertheless Bogaert said the group's priority remained to cut debt and it was not interested in making acquisitions.
With encouraging first-quarter trends, Pernod said it was aiming for a close to 6 percent rise in operating profit from recurring operations this year.
Pernod's revenue rose to 1.88 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in the three months to Sept. 30, up from 1.65 billion euros in the same period a year ago and beating the 1.8 billion euros forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Analysts had expected comparable sales growth of 4.8 percent.
"Overall a strong set of numbers from Pernod Ricard with organic sales growth in the quarter significantly ahead of our forecasts (+5.4%) and the performance of Diageo (+5%)," Ireland-based brokerage Davy said in a note.
French broker Natixis said in a note it planned to raise its earnings forecast after a morning conference call with Pernod management.
"Pernod remains our preferred stock amid large spirits caps due to its premium brands positioning driving growth," Natixis said. ($1=0.7264 euros)