French spirits group Remy Cointreau posted a 15% rise in profit in the first-half of the year (Apr – Sept) to €76m ($80.3m), from €68.6m last year. The lift was driven by “robust” demand for its highest end products.

Remy Martin, the group’s flagship brand delivered a 5.1% sales growth in organic terms on “outstanding performances” in the Americas and renewed growth in Greater China.

“The solid performance resulted from favourable volume and mix effects, the House’s high-end products having fuelled the growth in sales,” the group said.

Operating profit for the group climbed 15.9% to €123.9m on the back of a robust performance by the group’s flagship Remy Martin, Cointreau, Metaxa and Islay spirit brands.

Half-Year sales rose 2.5% to €513.4m, from €500.7m in 2015. China “is becoming a growth driver in Cointreau,” while U.S. demand for its spirits remained strong, the group said. “Solid momentum” in the U.S. continued for Remy Martin cognac, while Chinese cognac sales returned to growth.

The EMEA region (Europe-Middle East-Africa), which accounted for 32% of net sales (€163.7m) saw a 0.5% decline in the period despite solid performance in Russia.

The Americas region which contributed 43% of group sales saw a robust 13.6% growth across the group’s entire brand portfolio, while the Asia-pacific region, which accounted for 25% of group sales, saw a decline of 5.3% despite strong growth from Greater China.

This latest report follows a Q2 update in October which showed a 7.4% lift in group sales to €294.8m ($330.21m) from Q1 when sales were flat.

The group reiterated that it “anticipates growth in the current operating profit over financial year 2016-17, assuming constant exchange rates and consolidation scope.”